Pakistan pace bowling legend Wasim Akram wants to stop ODI cricket matches. Akram’s comments came shortly after England all-rounder Ben Stokes retired from ODIs citing a non-breakable streak. This has opened up a heated debate about the survival of 50-over cricket.
“Ben Stokes’ decision to retire from the 50-over format hurts. But I can’t help but agree with him. Because ODI cricket is dying. Stars are getting tired in this format. That’s why players pay more attention to Twenty20 cricket. My opinion is that the ODI format should be removed from the international cricket calendar. ODI cricket is now a drag, especially after the advent of Twenty20. Twenty20 is easy in a way, the game is over in four hours. The 50-over competition has no future in the face of this ever-growing format. Playing ODI cricket is very tiring for a player. After T20, ODI cricket seems to go on for days,” Akram opined.
Left-arm pacer Wasim Akram has taken 502 wickets from 356 ODIs in his career. After retiring from cricket, he is active as a commentator.
Earlier, former Indian player Pragyan Ojha also shared the same opinion. Oja said on the social media that we were all worried about the future of Test cricket, but in the future many players will think about ODI cricket and with this the future of ODI cricket itself will be in crisis.