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Powerplay innovation rekindling interest in ODIs: Akram
T20 cricket may be high on popularity charts but the ICC's new experiment of allowing batting teams choose powerplay has rekindled interest in ODIs.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: November 19, 2008 04:09 PM IST
Read Time:2 min
New Delhi:
Akram said the game's governing body will have to keep innovating to keep the fans' interest alive in Test and ODI cricket at a time when T20 seems to have captured the imagination of the younger generation.
"The ICC's rule change regarding powerplays has brought interest back in ODIs. It has made the game a lot more interesting and allowed the batting team to plan out the innings", Akram said in a telephonic interview. "The packed stadiums in the first two One-dayers in the series between India and England shows that there is interest for ODIs. The ICC has to find ways to keep the interest alive", he said.
The pace legend said T20 became an instant hit because people have less time these days. "It is a very good package. You get all the action in three hours, so it is bound to appeal to the spectators".
Akram, one of the finest left-arm seamers the world has seen with 414 Test and 502 ODI wickets to his credit, said the absence of crowds in Test matches is worrying but it is still too early to say that the longer format of the game was dying.
"Test cricket is the ultimate. It is the real test for the players. I think the interest for Test cricket will remain because everybody realises its importance", he observed.
Twenty20 cricket may be high on popularity charts but the ICC's new experiment of allowing batting teams choose when to take the powerplay has rekindled interest in One-dayers as well, according to former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram.Akram said the game's governing body will have to keep innovating to keep the fans' interest alive in Test and ODI cricket at a time when T20 seems to have captured the imagination of the younger generation.
"The ICC's rule change regarding powerplays has brought interest back in ODIs. It has made the game a lot more interesting and allowed the batting team to plan out the innings", Akram said in a telephonic interview. "The packed stadiums in the first two One-dayers in the series between India and England shows that there is interest for ODIs. The ICC has to find ways to keep the interest alive", he said.
The pace legend said T20 became an instant hit because people have less time these days. "It is a very good package. You get all the action in three hours, so it is bound to appeal to the spectators".
Akram, one of the finest left-arm seamers the world has seen with 414 Test and 502 ODI wickets to his credit, said the absence of crowds in Test matches is worrying but it is still too early to say that the longer format of the game was dying.
"Test cricket is the ultimate. It is the real test for the players. I think the interest for Test cricket will remain because everybody realises its importance", he observed.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket Wasim Akram
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