Abolish One-Day International’s pleads Imran Khan
The debate over the future of One-Day International cricket heats up as former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 captain and one of the true legends of the game, Imran Khan has advised the International Cricket Council (ICC) to abolish the format to ensure the longevity of international players especially the fast bowlers.
Regarded as one of the greatest all-rounder of the game, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kapil-Dev-c70234, Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham during the 80’s and early 90’s.
He captained Pakistan to their greatest ODI triumph in the 1992 cricket World Cup in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in 1989.
He quit the game after the 92’ World cup win and called it the greatest moment of his life. Yet, 18 years down the line, Imran thinks that the format is no more needed, given the advent of T20 format which has revolutionized the game.
Imran Khan who is taking active part in Pakistani politics since 1996 thinks that to improve the quality of the game, the ICC needs to cut down on the volume of international cricket which he thinks is putting unprecedented stress on the fast bowlers.
The way to go about this is to do away with ODIs, which will ensure that quick bowlers don't go away like "the dinosaurs."
"Maybe we should eliminate 50-over cricket and just have Twenty20 cricket and Test cricket," Imran made the observation during his first ever lecture at the annual Cowdrey Lecture at the home of cricket at Lord’s.
"The stress on fast bowlers is incredible. But cricket without fast bowling is never going to be the same standard if a batsman doesn't test himself against fast bowling.
Imran added that amongst the current crop of bowlers, only Australia’s tear away Shaun Tait has the potential to bowl consistently quick and he is a breadth of fresh air for the game.
"I saw Shaun Tait bowl in the Twenty20s and I thought an alien had come in you suddenly saw batsmen hopping about."
Meanwhile, on matters closer to home, Imran was disappointed at the performance of his team against Australia at Lord’s which they lost by 150 runs.
The match ended with the most unexpected call from designated captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 who realized after his dismissal in the second innings that he did not have the temperament to play in the longest format of the game.
Imran thinks that ‘BOOM BOOM’ Afridi is the perfect example of how a talented cricketer, who can thrive in T20 cricket, finds Test cricket demanding and an insurmountable challenge.
"The only test of a cricketer is the Test match because his talent and technique is tested. In Twenty20, if you are very talented you can get away with it, but a good Twenty20 cricketer will not necessarily excel in Test cricket."
Imran, who led Pakistan in three enthralling test series against the then mighty http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in the eighties that were all drawn at 1-1, believes that the standard of the game has declined considerably since his retirement.
"I don't believe Test cricket is the same standard as before," he said. "The spirit of the game suffered while I was playing. There was a lot of acrimony in the games and when India played against Pakistan. It deteriorated to depths you cannot imagine”.
He concluded that the advent of technology and neutral umpires has taken out the intensity from the game, as players are not as passionate as they were some years ago.
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