Sachin Tendulkar proposes division of ODIs into four innings of 25 overs each 

What's the story?

The former Indian batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar has spoken about the modernizations that the officials can bring into the prevailing system of cricket. Echoing his explanations of 2009, Tendulkar asserted that the board needs to update the ODI format by breaking down the game into four innings of 25 overs each.

The background

The Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI committee has kicked off a revolution in the field of cricket. Under Ganguly’s reign, the Indian side is ready to play its first day-night Test soon while the IPL Governing Council too came up with compelling opinions in the recent meetings.

There were propositions of the ‘Power Player’ rule, friendlies between franchises in overseas countries and also an extra umpire’s involvement to call the no-balls.

The heart of the matter

Sachin Tendulkar had earlier written a letter to the ICC and expressed his wish to revamp ODI cricket

Talking to TOI, the Mumbai-born veteran said:

“The 50-over format is the first thing that needs a look-in. As I had suggested, the format needs a tweak of two innings of 25 overs per side with a 15-minute break between each innings (a total of four innings between two teams). The number of innovations that can be brought in are huge,””

He further explained his theory with a hypothetical example. Sachin added:

“Let’s say there’s a 50-over-a-side match between Team A and Team B. Team A wins the toss, bats 25 overs; then team B bats for 25 overs; Team A resumes innings (with whatever wickets left) from the 26th over; Team B then resumes the last innings to chase the target. If Team A has lost all their wickets within the first 25 overs itself, then Team B gets 50 overs (25 overs plus 25 overs with a break) to chase the target.”

Tendulkar further specified that this form could facilitate the board in dealing with the dew aspect and the rainy conditions. According to him, no one has precise knowledge of the Duckworth-Lewis system hence, this advanced format can provide the authorities with a better way of determining the winner. He continued:

“There’s always a chance to come back into the game. In a regular 50-over format, if a side wins toss and there’s dew, the side bowling second has no chance. The wet ball just skids on to the bat and it’s never a fair battle”.

Tendulkar signed off by claiming that these modifications will keep things interesting for the spectators besides equalizing the differences between the bat and the ball.

What's next?

Back in 2009, ICC had considered Tendulkar’s remarks but, they had enforced no reforms. Therefore, it will be captivating to look at how the board reacts this time around.

Also see – World Test Championship Schedule