ODI cricket: Ticking time bomb

England’s 2019 World Cup hero Ben Stokes recently announced his exit from One Day Internationals (ODIs). The very premature move is being seen as the beginning of the end for the 50-over format of cricket. The only 31-year-old star all-rounder said that playing all formats had become “unsustainable” for him given the jam-packed calendar of the gentleman’s game.

Whatever the reason may be, his retirement has taken lovers of the sport by surprise. Apparently, the idea struck him during the first ODI against India at the Oval this month, a humiliating loss in which Stokes was one of four senior batters to be out without scoring. The nature of sport is that when you win you often don’t feel the fatigue and shrug off your body aches and pains but when you lose, it feels like they doubled. That will have played a part.

Also, he has clearly been struggling with a nagging knee injury, because of which he has not been completing his quota of overs for some time now. While criticising the hectic schedule, he metaphorically said, “We are not cars. You can’t just fill us up whenever you are ready.” If anything, it is a joke on back-to-back series, agree? See a few countries’ schedules for the next 12 months and you would agree it’s brutal. And, its tragic result is that the swashbuckling Stokes has played his last ODI. The ICC along with national cricket boards should take this as a wake-up call and ease the relentless pressure on not just multi-format players.

Stokes has set an example for cricketers across the world on how to tackle the excessive workload that is being thrown at them by their boards. Before it’s too late, those running the sport should act and act NOW! The current schedule is inhumane, as it doesn’t give players enough time to recover. Don’t be surprised if the floodgates open now.

After next year’s ODI World Cup, we may well see a host of big names choosing to stay away from the grind. Mark my words. Unfortunately, the longer-form white-ball cricket is paying the price for the T20 takeover. The BCCI and other top boards should be blamed for this. I’m afraid nothing can be done now. The damage has already been done.

With cricket played year-round and franchise T20 leagues (read IPL) becoming more powerful and taking up more of the calendar, it is unrealistic, especially for an all-rounder like Stokes, particularly as a pace bowler, to be able to cope with the rigours of international cricket across all formats.

For India, Hardik Pandya might decide to quit ODIs and walk away after hanging around till next year’s ODI World Cup. However, players will be stretched thin and some won’t have the luxury of choice that Stokes does. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson may also soon say goodbye to the 50-over game but continue to play T20 leagues. Not a good trend, right? Don’t you think if the priority within the sport is quality and entertainment, the best players have to be given the right conditions to produce their best? It seems pretty clear that for the people at the top of the game, it is all about money.

People say that T20 is what the youngsters want, and without doubt, the format has brought huge entertainment and given the game a new life. But in the pursuit of profits, it is being allowed to completely take over the calendar. The 50-over game, increasingly squeezed into the margins, is paying the price.

As an ardent cricket fan, I say ODI cricket should stay. And the schedule should be balanced across the formats. We have got Test cricket, which is the pinnacle, then T20 cricket, which has leagues around the world, is less time consuming, instant fun, great entertainment and everyone loves it, and then there’s the one-day cricket. Let all thrive.