“For me, in one-day cricket, a bowler is a bowling machine” - Gautam Gambhir reckons bowlers have become redundant in the 50-over format

Former India batter Gautam Gambhir opined that ODIs are so heavily skewed in favor of batters, one might as well replace bowlers with bowling machines. Gambhir rued that all rules in the 50-over format seem to be made to favor only batters.

The recently concluded ODI World Cup in India saw as many as 40 hundreds being scored, while more than 600 sixes were smashed.

In a discussion on Sportskeeda, Gambhir lamented the lack of opportunities for bowlers to make an impact in ODIs.

“Whoever made the rule of two new balls and five fielders inside the circle, either that person has not played cricket or he was never a bowler. For me, in one-day cricket, a bowler is a bowling machine. It’s better to have a bowling machine instead of a bowler and let the crowd enjoy fours and sixes,” he said.

The former India opener went on to add that the efficiency of finger spinners has reduced in ODIs over the years, adding that part-time bowlers have also gone out of fashion.

“Teams hardly pick finger spinners these days. There is no reverse swing as well. Further, you need to have five fielders inside the circle. You cannot see part-timers bowling either. No one [batters] wants to bowl in the nets because they know they are not going to get to bowl in a match. Boundaries have also become smaller,” Gambhir commented.

“With the introduction of DRS, 50-50 decisions have also started going in favor of the batters. We are seeing scores of 400 and if this continues, in the future, teams will score 500 as well,” he added, predicting a bleaker future for bowlers in the format.

Team India batter Virat Kohli registered a record tally of 765 runs in 11 matches during the 2023 World Cup, the most by any player in a single edition of the tournament. The previous best was by Sachin Tendulkar - 673 runs in the 2003 edition.

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“Good cricket happens when everyone has equal opportunities” - Gambhir

Expressing more thoughts on the ODI format, Gambhir opined that for cricket to be a fair sport, all parties must get equal opportunities.

“If you want youngsters to become bowlers, have some things in favor of bowlers in this format. Good cricket happens when everyone has equal opportunities. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in the 50-over format,” he elaborated.

The 2023 World Cup saw the record for the fastest hundred in the tournament being broken twice. South Africa’s Aiden Markram slammed a ton off 49 balls, which was bettered by Australia’s Glenn Maxwell (40 balls).