Bangladesh opening batter and ODI team captain Tamim Iqbal is a big fan of the 50-over format of the game and has defended it by saying that everyone likes to see matches in this format. With the rise of T20 leagues and matches all around the world, there are serious doubts over the future of the One-Day format of the game.
After England’s Test captain Ben Stokes announced his decision to retire from the 50-over format of the game last month, several former greats like Wasim Jaffer and Ravi Shastri have raised questions over the future of the 50-over format of the game. But according to Tamim, who is Bangladesh’s leading run-getter in this format of the game, ODIs are very important and the World Cup in ODIs is bigger than that of T20Is.
Speaking ahead of the first ODI between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, the 33-year-old left-handed batter who bid goodbye to T20I cricket last month said, ”I think the ODIs are a very important format. Not only me, but the ICC also said it. Everyone likes to see matches in this format. If you see the big tournaments of the ICC, then the T20 World Cup is not as big as the ODI World Cup. This is a very important format in cricket.”
Bangladesh have performed well in ODIs in comparison to the other formats of the game. They reached the quarterfinals of the 2015 World Cup and then managed to book a place in the 2017 Champions Trophy semifinals as well, but on both occasions had to suffer a defeat against India.
