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Mumbai: The growing noises may be pointing towards the eventual death of the good old One-Day International, but in India, there are plenty who are willing to bat for a version of cricket that faces its toughest test since its inception on the last day of a rain-marred Ashes Test at Melbourne on Jan 5, 1971.
A few former Indian cricketers TOI spoke to, admitted that ODIs were under the hammer, but at the same time, they pointed out that T20 itself may just be a fashion thing, which may become passe after a few years. In that case, where does cricket go from there?
"If people get bored of T20 tomorrow, what do you do? Do you introduce a 5-over or 10 over format?" questioned former India stumper Nayan Mongia. Ex-India pacer Manoj Prabhakar, who will coach Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy, agreed. "You never know. It might just be a phase. T20 appeals to the public for now, but will it sustain ?" he wondered. Kiran More, a former India ‘keeper and a chairman of selectors, said, "An overdose may just wean away the interest in T20."
For now, the general opinion is that for any player, a 50-overs-a-side game offers chance of redemption. "A T20 match can end the career of a player. If a bowler concedes 25 runs in an over, he is finished. A 50-over game allows you time to come back," said Prabhakar.
But if the 50-over version is done away with altogether, won't it give some much-needed rest to the currently much-burdened, over-worked and tired bodies of most of the top international cricketers? "Don't forget that a T20 match is far more excruciating for a bowler," reminded Prabhakar. "In fact, it's almost a cold-blooded murder of a bowler.”
"The 50-overs cricket has its own thrills. A team can always come back into the game," pointed out Madan Lal. "In a T20 game, If you lose early wickets, half the match is decided there," he added. The Delhi man spoke for many romantics of the game when he defended ODIs by saying, "This format still has some of the nuances of traditional cricket, unlike T20. The ICC should preserve ODIs because there is a World Cup in this format, which has a lot of tradition and history associated with it.”
Mongia brought in a concern that is growing as rapidly as the craze for T20. "I coach at an academy for junior cricketers, and I fume at how most of them just want to hit fours or sixes. Nobody wants to stay at the wicket.”
More offered a middle path. "I think the best solution is to replace 50-overs cricket with 40-overs-a-side contests. That way, you save on a couple of hours. 20 overs less also means a fast-paced game. For bowlers too, eight overs in a day should not be a problem. This way, we can savour the best of the limited-overs format."
