Sachin Tendulkar suggests radical changes in ODI cricket as he feels the format is too 'predictable and boring'

Sachin Tendulkar (Image source: Twitter)

With too much of T20 cricket and the advent of 'bazball' style, ODIs and Test cricket lost their prominence and appeal. It is not wrong to suspect that cricket is slowly becoming a batter's game as fans prefer the sight of balls flying over boundary ropes to dot balls and a few wickets. Over the past few years, many critics and fans, including former India head coach Ravi Shastri, have pointed to the above statement.

Shastri suggested that ODI cricket should be changed with the times and make it a 40-over-a-side affair. Meanwhile, India's legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar admitted that the format is becoming monotonous but suggested a way to make the 50-over contest interesting without reducing the overs.

Speaking on Sports Tak, Tendulkar said: "It's getting monotonous, without a doubt. There are two parts to it. One is the current format and the next which I feel that should be played.

"The current format, which has been there for a while now is two new balls (per innings). When you have two new balls, you have kind of eliminated reverse swing. Even though we are in the 40th over of the game, it's just the 20th over of that ball. And the ball only starts reversing around the 30th over. That element is missing today because of two new balls. The current format, I feel, is heavy on bowlers. Right now, the game is becoming too predictable. From the 15th to the 40th over its losing its momentum. It's getting boring."

The 49-year-old opined that there is no harm in retaining the 50-over format, but teams should alternate between batting and bowling after every 25 overs. He feels this will give the opponents level-playing ground and take toss, dew factor and other conditions out of the equation. Tendulkar also mentioned about the commercial aspect of it, saying "there will be three innings breaks instead of two" as both teams bowl in the first and the second halves.

'Cricketers are meant to play on different surfaces': Tendulkar

After the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, there was a lot of criticism about Test matches not lasting up to five days. Three of the four Test matches in the series ended in two-and-a-half days and the Indore pitch received a 'poor' rating from Cricket Governing Body.

Tendulkar expressed his opinion about the matter that one shouldn't look at how many days the match will end and instead focus on whether the match is exciting or not. He also added that it is part and parcel of the cricketer's job to play on different surfaces.

"We need to understand one thing Test cricket should be engaging and it should not be about how many days it lasts, five days or whatever. We (cricketers) are meant to play on different surfaces; be it a bouncy track, a fast track, slow track, turning track, swinging conditions, seaming conditions with different balls."