Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has shared his views on the future of 50-over cricket, raising concerns about the expansion of T20 cricket with a lot of franchise tournaments popping up across the globe.
Speaking to a News Agency, PTI, Ponting reckoned that the balance between different formats is shifting, which could affect the 50-over format. Of late, there have been calls for reduction of ODIs to accommodate more Tests and T20Is, which is a concerning factor, according to the former skipper.
“As the months go by and the years go by and more and more T20 cricket is being played and more franchises and franchise tournaments are starting around the world, it’s more and more likely that 50-over cricket is probably going to be played less. It’s inevitable, which I’m not a huge fan of, to be honest,” Ponting told PTI.
“I love playing that format of the game, but something’s got to give somewhere. Test cricket is still going to remain strong as long as India, Australia, England and probably South Africa want Test cricket to remain strong. It will. So something’s got to give. And the obvious one is 50-over cricket,” he added.
On the other hand, David Warner, who was named captain of the Australia Champions side in the World Champions League Season 3, said cricket should move towards a model similar to club football.
“I always thought that in time it would probably be like that EPL [English Premier League] sort of model. But the hard thing with cricket is when you’ve got so many different franchise competitions, it’s very difficult. The other thing as well is the amount of local players versus overseas players. The rules will have to completely change. EPL I think you can play as many as you want,” Warner said.
“That goes with all the other leagues. So it’s completely determined by the place that you’re playing in. Whether it’s in India, you’re playing in PSL, you’re playing in Australia,” he concluded.
