ODIs are just a drag now, says former Pakistan fast bowler Akram
Players are focusing on the shorter format and the longer format, he adds
Former Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram believes that three formats of international cricket is “unsustainable” and that 50-over one-dayers might have to be scrapped as they no longer draw crowds to stadiums around the world.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes announced his retirement from ODIs this week after deciding to focus on test cricket and the game’s shortest format, Twenty20.
Akram, a devastating bowler in his prime and the first to claim 500 ODI wickets, said Stokes retiring from ODIs was sad but that he understood the reasons.
“Even as a commentator... one-day cricket is just a drag now, especially after T20. I can imagine as a player. 50 overs, 50 overs, then you have to pre-game, post-game, the lunch game,” Akram said on a BBC podcast.
T20 is easier
“T20 is kind of easier, (in) four hours the game is over. The leagues all around the world, there’s a lot more money. I suppose this is part and parcel of modern cricket - T20 or Test cricket. One-day cricket is kind of dying. It is quite tiring for a player to play one-day cricket... So players are focusing on the shorter format and the longer format obviously (with) Test cricket.”
When asked if administrators should focus on Tests and T20s Akram said: “I think so. In England you have full houses. In India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa - (with) one-day cricket you are not going to fill the stadiums. They are doing it just for the sake of doing it,” he added.