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India go into their T20I series against New Zealand on the back of a historic defeat to the Kiwis in the preceding ODI rubber. India had taken a 1-0 lead in the series but New Zealand won the remaining two matches, thus completing their first ever series victory in the format in India. Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar, however, feels that the series never really mattered in the larger scheme of things, arguing that the World Cup is the only relevant competition remaining in ODIs.
“India losing to New Zealand in the ODI series recently, no big deal,” said Manjrekar on his Instagram handle. “Honestly, in 50-over cricket today, what really matters is the World Cup, not even the Champions Trophy, because if you try and remember the last three Champions Trophy winners, you’ll struggle to remember those. But World Cup, you’ll remember each winner from the time the tournament started.”
Manjrekar’s comments come amid a larger debate around the relevance of bilateral ODI cricket in the age of T20s. The 60-year-old had earlier stoked some controversy by stating that he was disappointed that Virat Kohli chose to retire from Tests and T20Is but chose to continue only in ODIs, which he felt is the “easiest format” for a top-order batter.
Meanwhile, India spin great Ravichandran Ashwin said that he was worried about the future of the format once Kohli and Rohit Sharma retire. “I am not sure about future of ODI after 2027 World Cup. I am a little worried about it. Of course, I am following Vijay Hazare Trophy but the manner in which I followed SMAT, I am finding slightly difficult to follow,” Ashwin, India’s second highest Test wicket-taker of all time with 537 scalps, said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
While speaking at an Idea Exchange hosted by The Indian Express last year, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said that batsmanship against spin had declined as the ODI format declined. “The rhythm and tempo of one-day batting is not like it used to be because of how much T20 cricket is being played. In the 50-over game now, teams are trying to play it like a longer T20 game,” had said. “The stuff that made the best 50-over players what they were, maybe some of that has gone.”
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