Sachin Tendulkar bats once again for radical 2 innings-a-side ODIs

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday suggested some radical changes to the ODI format due to its plummeting popularity, expressing concern for the same once again.

ALSO, READ | India Vs Bangladesh: 5 Major Talking Points From The First T20I

Tendulkar: Two innings of 25 overs per side

The former Indian opener has suggested splitting the 50 overs into "two innings of 25 overs per side" with a 15-minute break, which will increase the interest among the crowd as well as the broadcasters. He mentioned the same idea back in 2009. The ICC had even considered the idea but did not implement it. 

Speaking to a leading Indian media daily, Tendulkar said that the ODI format needed a tweak of two innings of 25 overs per side with a 15-minute break between each innings (a total of four innings between two teams). He added that there were a lot of innovations that could be made. Tendulkar said that if these modifications were made to the game, the teams will have a better chance of coming back into the game. He added that in an ODI, if a side won the toss and there was dew, then that gave the side bowling second virtually no chance as a wet ball just skids on the surface, making it an unfair battle.

ALSO, READ | MS Dhoni Extends His Break To Play Tennis In Ranchi? Claims Report

The Mumbai-born batsman also gave the example of the recent quarterfinal between Mumbai and Chhattisgarh of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which ended in a no-result due to rains resulting in Mumbai getting knocked out of the tournament. Due to bad weather, a number of games were affected in the tournament and resulted in the exit of Mumbai and Punjab because of no reserve days. Tendulkar also spoke about the vagueness of the Duckworth & Lewis method as no one understood it except those two on whom the method was based. He added that the six extra balls in the bowling powerplay would balance the battle between the bat and ball as it would be exciting for the viewers because teams would constantly rethink their strategies.

ALSO, READ | Ind Vs Ban: Rajkot T20I In Danger Due To Cyclone Maha, Claims Report

ALSO, READ | Virat Kohli Writes A Note To His 15-year Old Self On His 31st Birthday