New Delhi: Former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha feels the future of One Day International (ODI) cricket looks uncertain vis-a-vis Test cricket.
Ojha’s comments came after England all-round Ben Stokes announced that he will retire from ODIs following Tuesday’s match against South Africa. England and South Africa will lock horns in an ODI series which gets underway from Tuesday.
According to ECB, Stokes has played 104 ODI matches and is set to end his international career in the one-day format on his home ground at the Seat Unique Riverside.
“We were worried about TEST cricket’s future but the future of ODIs looks uncertain! In future we may see many crickets preferring to move away from this format #SomethingToThinkAbout #Cricketonkoo,” Ojha said on the Koo app.
Coming to Stokes, the 31-year-old’s ODI career will forever be remembered for his Player-of-the-Match performance in the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final at Lord’s.
Stokes’ unbeaten 84 helped to send the match into a Super Over as England claimed their first ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup title in the most thrilling of circumstances.
“Three formats are just unsustainable for me now. Not only do I feel that my body is letting me down because of the schedule and what is expected of us, but I also feel that I am taking the place of another player who can give Jos and the rest of the team their all. It’s time for someone else to progress as a cricketer and make incredible memories like I have over the past 11 years,” Stokes said in a statement.
After making his ODI debut against Ireland in 2011, Stokes has scored 2919 runs, including three centuries, and taken 74 wickets.
He captained the ODI side during last summer’s 3-0 Royal London Series victory against Pakistan and has been an inspirational leader.
–IANS