Ravichandran Ashwin had tweeted long back that he found ODI cricket boring. Agreeing with India's premier off-spinner was Ben Stokes, who shook the cricket fraternity by calling time on his ODI career ahead of the then 50-over ODI World Cup 2023. While Stokes reversed that decision eventually and played the marquee event, ODI cricket was certainly dying a slow death. Then BCCI Chairman Jay Shah promised that the 50-over World Cup 2023 would change the perspectives of people about ODI cricket. However, Jay Shah's statement did not exactly transpire that way, and ODI cricket has certainly lost its relevance.
Blame the fast-placed T20s or the more result-oriented Test matches, ODIs have now come into relevance only during the ODI World Cups. Not even the bilateral ODI series are watched by the craziest of craziest cricket fanatics with the same zest as it was used during the late 90s and early 2000s. Case in point take the example of Marcus Stoinis, who suddenly called time on his ODI career, citing he wants to play T20Is for Australia and franchise T20 leagues across the globe. Stoinis is just 34 and is in one of his prime years in international cricket.
That the all-rounder has not retired from T20Is for Australia surely tells us a story. Apart from Stoinis, even his teammate Mitchell Starc has pulled out of CT 2025 due to personal reasons. Everyone knows how committed the left-arm pacer is to playing for Australia, especially in ICC events.
Does 50 over cricket enjoy viewership as T20s and Tests?
Now the bigger question does 50-over cricket enjoy the same amount of viewership as the T20s and Tests? Well, only during the World Cups, are the audience glued to their TV screens. A record 518 million (51.8 crore) people tuned in to watch the ODI World Cup 2023, however, those numbers took a massive dip during the bilateral ODIs. During the recent India vs England ODIs, hardly 1 million viewers tuned in to watch the match.
In comparison, Tests and franchise T20 leagues garner more viewership than the bilateral ODIs. The Border-Gavaskar series attracted 192.5 million viewers on TV. Who would have thought a Test series would shatter the viewership record? With Tests becoming more result-oriented, the audience has certainly found a remanence.
Should ODI cricket take a similar route as WTC?
Now the big question is - Does ICC want to adopt a similar approach to make ODIs more relevant again? As of now, the ICC does not have those plans. The ICC's main aim now is to take T20 cricket across different countries and prioritize Test cricket by dividing it into Two Tiers. The ODI cricket will not find its voice just again, Or who know if the Champions Trophy games make ODI cricket interesting again.
