As cricket grapples with a massive scheduling problem, former India coach Ravi Shastri has once again called for reduction in T20 bilateral series, saying franchise cricket can be encouraged instead.
As per ICC’s next Future Tours Programme (FTP) draft, there is set to be a massive increase in T20Is and the IPL is also set to have a two-and-a-half month window.
There are 15 five-match T20I series scheduled in the draft, nine of which include India. With the increasing number of matches, multi-format players are feeling the load.
England’s premier all-rounder Ben Stokes shocked everyone be announcing retirement from ODIs on Monday. The 31-year-old said playing three formats had become “unsustainable” for him.
“I think the schedule and everything that is expected of us these days, for me personally at the moment, it feels unsustainable.
“We’re not cars where you can just fill us up with petrol or diesel and then let us go. It does have this effect on you, the amount of playing and travelling we do --- it all adds up.
“The schedule at the moment is all very jam-packed,” Stokes said on Tuesday before his final ODI.
Earlier this month, Cricket South Africa had decided to pull out of their ODI series against Australia to ensure their players would be available for their new domestic T20 competition. “I would be a little careful of the number of bilateral splits, especially in T20 cricket. There’s a lot of franchise cricket which can be encouraged, whichever country it’s in --- India, West Indies or Pakistan,” Shastri said on Telegraph Sport’s podcast.
“You play less bilaterals and then you get together for the World Cups. So the emphasis on ICC World Cup events becomes paramount. Then people look forward to them,” he added.
Shastri also suggested a Ravi Shastri Shastri joins chorus for fewer bilateral series two-tier Test set up to save the longest format from extinction. “I think two tiers are needed, otherwise Test cricket will die in 10 years time.
“You need six teams at the top, and then six teams in the second and then you qualify. And those top six play against each other more often because of the corridor you open up by having less bilateral T20 cricket and just franchise cricket. That’s the way all formats of the game can survive,” he explained.
Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has also slammed the cricket calendar.
“It is disappointing news to say the least but it is a reflection of where the cricketing schedule is at the moment. It is madness for players,” Hussain said after Stokes’s decision.
“If the ICC just keep putting on ICC events and individual boards just keep filling the gaps with as much cricket as possible, eventually these cricketers will just say I’m done. “Stokes is done with one format aged 31, which can’t be right, really.
The schedule is a bit of a joke at the moment. “It looks like 50-over cricket is the one everyone is looking at, because everyone loves Test match cricket and everyone loves T20 cricket.”
