5 interesting changes that could be made to ODI cricket

Every time the world switches back to watching ODI cricket just after the T20 world cup, the matches seem to be even more painfully slow and predictable. Pundits have often wondered if a few changes could be introduced to ODI cricket to give it a new and unique identity once again.Moreover, the balance having shifted unfairly in the favour of batsmen, matches turning out to be a run-feast and huge totals being chased down have become a regular phenomenon. If ODI cricket has to be saved, the balance between the bat and the ball needs to be restored.Here are 5 changes that should be made to ODI cricket to make it more interesting.

#1 Change the bouncer rule

Before the 1990s, fiery West Indian bowlers could steam in and bowl as many bouncers as they liked in an over. That was before the bouncer rule was introduced in 1991 as an experiment and it was drafted into the law book in 1994.

The bouncer rule limited the number of bouncers that can be bowled in an over. This was considered to be necessary as bouncers intimidated and injured batsmen. It was also considered to be an unsportsmanlike, negative tactics. Former umpire Dickie Bird was strongly opposed to the introduction of the bouncer rule and openly called it 'farcical'.

It would be interesting to do away with the bouncer rule totally in ODIs or perhaps allow at least three bouncers in an over. That would keep the batsman guessing and it would demand greater skill to negotiate a good bowling spell. Few sights in cricket are as fulfilling as watching a fast bowler breathing fire and a change in rules might restore some parity between the bat and the ball.

#2 Do away with the powerplays

Dead pitches, short boundaries and brilliant technical innovations by batsmen like ramp shots and switch-hits -- the odds in ODI cricket are now heavily stacked in favour of batsmen. And on top of that, the power-plays are any bowler's nightmare as all the batsman has to do is to take the aerial route over the head of the inner circle of fielders.

It would be interesting to do away with fielding restrictions in ODIs altogether. Shane Warne who has long advocated this move once wrote, "It is time to de-regulate one-day cricket. No restrictions with the field, none, place the fielders anywhere you want, this will create so many options and the attacking captains and teams will win. The only law should be that no bowler can bowl more than ten overs."

Without fielding restrictions, batsmen will find it more difficult to score runs freely. And a fielding captain should also have this thinking cap on always: does he go in with an all out defensive field and concede singles or does he still continue to attack? The spinners will also, needless to say, enjoy bowling with more protection.

#3 Allow 2 bowlers to bowl 12 overs

With the odds tilted in favour of the batsmen, it's time to make some rule changes that will favour bowlers exclusively. If your opening batsmen can bat 50 overs if he does not get out, why can't your best bowler bowl more than 10 overs?

This was in fact tried in Indian domestic competitions during the 2012-13 season. Anil Kumble who had mainly campaigned for this change said, "I believe that 12 overs for one bowler in the one-dayers will not only provide a better contest between bat and ball but will also bring in more room for strategising for the captains."

While only one bowler was allowed to bowl 12 overs in the domestic season that season, allowing two bowlers to do it will be far more interesting. The fielding captain will have more options to play with and depend less on his fifth bowling option in that case.

#4 Introduce four 25-over innings

With T20 cricket spreading everywhere like wildfire, ODIs might suffer a slow death. One innovative rule change that would make ODIs far more interesting is to break it up into four innings so that each team bats twice for 25 overs.

Tendulkar had long suggested that ODIs should introduce his innovative change. In an interview to Times Now in 2009, Tendulkar said, "I am for 50-over cricket. I think we should have 25 overs a side to start with. I thought of this during the 2002 Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. We know how the conditions will affect the two teams. But it [his idea] is not too dependent on the toss because, for example, in a day-night match both the teams will have to bat under lights. The conditions change very dramatically but this would ensure that it's same for everyone."

Besides doing away with the unfair advantage due to the toss, the new system will also not make it possible to have slow middle overs as is the case in ODIs now. Batsmen will have to bat keeping in mind the lead they have from the first innings and the number of wickets they had lost already. It could be a fascinating scenario.

#5 Allow one substitute player

Cricket is one of the funny team games that does not allow a substitute player. Though the powerplays stayed on, albeit in a different form, the super-sub rule which was experimented with in 2005 was later scrapped as all international captains protested against it.

One of the reasons why the super-sub rule became unpopular with captains was because the 12th man had to be named before the toss. So, if the rule is re-introduced, it would make a lot more sense to allow captains to name their 12th man after the toss. The other alternative would be to allow captains to name two substitutes even though they would be allowed to use either one of them later.

Allowing a substitute player should be allowed as very often a crucial bowler or a batsman gets injured during the course of a match. It will more importantly add an interesting dimension to the game if captains are allowed to name two substitutes and use one of them any time during the course of the match.