India's batting legend and former captain Sachin Tendulkar feels the One Day International (ODI) cricket is getting monotonous day by day as he proposed a plan to rejuvenate the 50-over format. Speaking at the India Today Conclave on March 17 (Friday), the Master Blaster critically analysed the state of ODI cricket and highlighted two major points, use of two new-balls and modern-day fielding restrictions, have taken the balance away between bat and ball and made it more tougher of bowlers in the ODI format.
"It's getting monotonous without any doubt. There are two parts. One is the current format and the next is which I feel it should be played. Let me talk about the current format which has been there for a while now… is two new balls. When you have two new balls, it eliminated reverse swing. Even though we are in the 40th over of the game, it's actually the 20th over of that ball," Tendulkar said.
"But I think it only starts reversing around the 30th over or so. There was a bit of discoloration and the ball gets softer. When the ball started discoloring, to pick the shiny and the rough side becomes difficult. That element is missing today because of two new balls," he further added.
The 49-year-old also shared his interaction with spinners who don't seem to be happy about the rule of keeping five fielders inside the 30-yard circle i the last 10 overs of an ODI game.
"Also for spinners, I have spoken to a few spinners. I was trying to understand their mindset with 5 fielders in the ring. The bowlers are saying that we don't have the freedom to change our lines. Even if we know that, there is a possibility of batter making the mistake, if we change our line then we might have to pay a heavy price. They don't have the protection now in the current format. The current format is heavy on the bowlers. it's challenging with 5 fielders in the ring and 2 new balls,' Tendulkar added.
The growing T20 leagues across the globe is certainly taking the shine off ODI cricket as its relevance is fading away with the passage of time. As per the cricket legend Tendulkar, the need of the hour is to tweak the format of the game in order to resurrect ODI which will only add interest to the game and help in maintain the relevance of 50-over format in current era.
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Tendulkar proposed a plan to rejuvenate the ODIs and said the format should be split into four quarters of 25 overs each.
"Coming to the second bit, we should be playing 25 overs first. Divide it into 4 halves, like Test cricket. In Test cricket you have 20 wickets, here you only have 10 wickets. If you are dismissed, you are out of the game for the next 25 overs as well. You can't come back and bat.
"Why I am saying this because… we played a tournament in Sri Lanka where we played 118 overs without any result. First day, Sri Lanka batted first and we played 10 overs, the match was rained out. The match was again called off on the following day. We almost played 118 overs without any result.
"Here, if you have 25 overs and the other side comes and bats 25 overs, here at least each side has completed 25 overs.
"Right now, the game is becoming too predictable. From 15th over to 40th over, there is not enough momentum. There are not enough eyeballs. It's getting boring. How do we balance that out?
“How do we balance out the dew factor? If a captain has lost the toss, if he has to bowl second in wet conditions, it becomes really, really difficult. When you play 25 overs each, you can also get three breaks. With a spin of a coin, you can't really decide the game,” Tendulkar concluded.
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