The problem with ODIs

Everyday we hear death knells for the format of cricket which has been economically the most rewarding for its big bosses - the one day international or the ODI as they are called. Though the call may be sometimes exaggerated, there is a serious concern among the connoisseurs of the game regarding its future. The test cricket is the real test of abilities and the T20 attracts the crowd, the ODI are neither here nor there, they argue. There might be some merit in the argument, but that is not the real problem with the ODI format. The real problem is the insignificance of the games.

IPL, over the last 3 years has been a humongous success. The format of the cricket sure helps. But the main reason why almost all the matches are interesting to watch is because there is something riding on it - initially a place in the semi-finals and then the IPL trophy itself. Everyone knows who won the first, second and the third IPL. On the other hand, an ODI tri-series or a 3/5 match bilateral contest don't have any context. No won remembers who won the last 'Singer Cup' or the 'Asia Cup' or the 'Compaq cup'. There is no history associated with these matches which make them uninteresting.

That is why I think the administrators are barking the wrong tree when they try to make the ODIs more 'interesting' by adding a batting power play or dividing it to two innings of 25 each. Unless they make the context more relevant, any amount of cosmetic changes to the format will not yield much. When the games themselves are interesting, the format doesn't matter. Even in the last decade when the audience for Test cricket decreased alarmingly, viewership for India-Australia series and The Ashes was intact.

Measures to make ODI relevant

There needs to be an ODI world championship where a winner is announced at the end of every year. An ODI series win should have some points based on the ranking of the countries involved (similar to the ranking system now). Finally, the number 1 and number 2 team should play a 5 match ODI series to decide the winner.

The number of teams in the World Cup should be reduced to 6 and these teams have to be chosen based on their performance in the last four world championship. This way even if you are in fourth or fifth place in the world championship, there is motivation for you to play well and win the matches. Further, the presence of the top six teams will make the world cup so much more interesting and will eliminate meaningless matches.