Three reasons that prove ODI cricket is not dying

After star England all-rounder Ben Stokes shockingly announced his retirement from One Day Internationals citing excessive overall workload and his inability to give his 100% in that format. In the same light, many icons of the game have come forward and said that ODI cricket is dying a slow death and its future is in jeopardy. They included the likes of Wasim Akram, Ravi Shastri, Quinton de Kock, Usman Khawaja, Shahid Afridi, etc.

Since 2020 there has been an overdose of T20Is due to back-to-back T20 World Cups being played in 2021 and 2022 as a result of which the ODIs have taken a backseat as of now which could be one of the prime reasons behind the dwindling interest in this format. However, it should be noted that the 50-over format is still alive and kicking and there are a few valid reasons why the One Day Internationals would be relevant forever. Without further a do, here’s a look at-

Three reasons that show ODI cricket is still alive

The balance between bat and ball

This is one of the main reasons why ODIs are pretty much relevant as far as white-ball cricket is concerned. In T20Is, the bowlers need to be cautious throughout their spells, especially in the powerplay overs where only two fielders can be placed outside the circle. However, once a bowler loses the plot completely, then he has minimal chance to make a comeback as he has only four overs at his disposal and the batters can end up gaining the upper hand with their big-hitting.

But, this is not the case in One Day Internationals though as it provides a balance between bat and ball. The bowler might be off-colour in his first spell, but with a spell of 10 overs, he can easily rediscover his rhythm and stage a remarkable comeback in the second spell and do wonders for his team.

Thus, the ODI format ensures that there is no monopoly and both batters and bowlers need to showcase the best of their skills to continue to come out on top.