Cricket as we know it today is
unrecognisable from the 1970s when a second format – One Day International –
was introduced. Since then, Twenty20 has appeared on the scene and seems to
hold the entire ecosystem hostage to its ability to appeal to the modern sports
fan in its action-packed short duration and hence, its draw for commercial
sponsors. Hardik
Pandya was among the pick of the bowlers in the Pune ODI. AP
As to the cricketing merit, Tests and T20s
are poles apart, and as India's ace off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said, “They
ought to be considered different sports”. Where does that leave ODIs? When T20
became popular and domestic franchise leagues began popping up everywhere, the
players were of the opinion, according to an annual report published by the
Australian Cricketers Association that they foresaw a time when ODIs cease to
exist as a regular item on the cricket calendar. In fact, in 2013, ICC
determined that they would drop the Champions Trophy as one of their marquee
global tournament but yet, we are only months from the 2017 Champions Trophy.
ODIs just won't go away, and the reasons
are very simple – there is money to be made. Broadcasters love ODIs as it
provides a solid seven-hour window (including primetime during day-night games)
with more than a hundred breaks for advertisements that allows them to make
incredible profits. For generations of fans, especially in the subcontinent –
the financial hub of the sport, ODIs were synonymous with cricket as it made
less demands on their time and attention than Tests.
With T20s now carving chunks out of that,
ODIs – since they are still tremendous money spinners – needed to be just as
action packed. ICC then meddled with the Powerplay rules and introduced two
balls per innings, to ensure more runs were scored at a rate never before seen,
and the so called boring middle overs are all but eliminated from the game.
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