Ever since Ben Stokes retired from ODIs, a debate has started regarding the international cricket schedule and whether it is too much for the players to sustain in all three formats.
In his statement, Stokes had said that playing all three formats is just unsustainable for him right now. Now, former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has weighed on the debate, saying the players will start choosing which formats they want to play, and he cited the example of India all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
“50-over format might be pushed back but it can still survive if you focus just on the World Cup. From the ICC’s point of view, paramount importance should be given to World Cups, whether it is T20 World Cup or 50-over World Cup, the bucks have to increase. Test cricket will always remain because of the importance it brings to the game. You have players already choosing what formats they want to play. Take a Hardik Pandya. He wants to play T20 cricket and he is very clear in his mind that ‘I do not want to play anything else,” Shastri told Sky Sports on Friday.
“He will play the 50-over cricket because there is a World Cup in India next year. After that, you might see him going from that as well. You will see a similar thing happening with other players, they will start choosing formats, they have every right to,” he added.
When talking about the present-day cricket schedule, Shastri said: “The main issue that we have to look at right now is the reality, what is happening right now. There are things that are being said by former players, someone like me, 5-10 years ago, that is already happening. If you are not going to see the reality, then it is going to give you the biggest knockout punch that you have ever got. It is not just administrators who run the world game, but administrations who run different boards around the world, they have got to see the reality, the volume of cricket and what is the demand, go with the economics of the sport.”
