Cricket's jam-packed calendar attracted a lot of criticism after England all-rounder Ben Stokes announced his retirement from One Day Internationals (ODI) last month. Former players questioned the future of the 50-over games, with many believing that it will be a tough job for players to play all three formats amidst a cramped schedule. Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram said that he understood the rationale behind Stokes' decision to quit, while former England captain Nasser Hussain slammed the current cricket scenario and described it as "madness".
Calling playing three formats "unsustainable" for him, Stokes, who is currently England's Test skipper, said in his statement that cricketers "are not like cars" and there is "too much cricket rammed in".
Stokes' retirement has sparked a massive debate over the relevance of the 50-over format, especially when the World T20 is just months away. England all-rounder Moeen Ali has shared his thoughts on ODI cricket's future, saying the congested schedule could lead to its end.
“It just feels like it’s going that way and there’s nothing almost you can do because I think the interest in 50-over cricket is not there as it probably once was. So yeah, having won it in 2019 it’s a difficult one because I genuinely feel in two to three years' time, nobody’s going to want to play it," Ali told Cricket365.
{{/usCountry}}“It just feels like it’s going that way and there’s nothing almost you can do because I think the interest in 50-over cricket is not there as it probably once was. So yeah, having won it in 2019 it’s a difficult one because I genuinely feel in two to three years' time, nobody’s going to want to play it," Ali told Cricket365.
{{/usCountry}}“It’s a bit like our domestic stuff here at the moment, there’s the Hundred while the 50-over is going on and there’s not that much interest in it compared to the County Championship, the Vitality Blast and the Hundred."
With concerns being raised over the burnout faced by players, former India head coach Ravi Shastri had said that many would start hand-picking the format they want to play. It's no secret that the workload of players hits the roof, given the sport's taxing schedule in modern times.
Ali predicted that world cricket will witness a lot more retirements and agreed to 'too much going on' at the moment.
“International cricket in all three formats is by far the best cricket to play. There’s no doubt about that, but I do worry there are so many tournaments out there that players are retiring more now and you’ll see more retiring soon," he said.
“At the moment it’s not sustainable in my opinion. Something has to be done because I fear losing the 50-over format in a couple of years, because it’s almost like the long, boring one if that makes sense."
“It’s almost like you’ve got T20s, you’ve got the Test matches, which are great and then the 50 overs is just in the middle there’s no importance given to at the moment. So yeah, I think there’s too much. Personally, I feel like there’s too much going on,” he added.