Wasim Akram recommends scrapping ODI cricket

Legend Left arm pacer Wasim Akram has recommended cricket administrators to scrap one-day international (ODI) cricket, terming it too long for modern-day audiences and players.

Talking to the English newspaper Telegraph Wasim Akram said that English all-rounder Ben Stokes’s early retirement from ODI cricket is saddening but he agrees with him. One player can not play all three formats amid such tight schedules and leagues around the world, he added.

He said that ODI cricket is dying, and cricket administrators should consider phasing it out. Even as a commentator, ODI cricket feels too long, he added.

The focus should be on T20 and Test cricket only, T20 is more entertaining and a game takes only 4 hours to complete, the left-arm pacer said. Crowds do not come to watch one day cricket in countries other than England, he added.

T20 leagues around the world are offering good money to players to play for a shorter period of time, which is why players do not want to play the longer formats, he added.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes will quit one-day internationals following Tuesday’s match against South Africa, the country’s cricket board said in a statement.

Also Read: Ben Stokes quits one-day internationals

“I will play my last game for England in ODI cricket on Tuesday in Durham. I have decided to retire from this format,” Stokes said in the statement.