Ashwin Questions ODI Future, Impact on Young Stars

Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has voiced serious concerns about the future of ODI cricket, especially after the 2027 World Cup. He really worries what happens when players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma eventually step away from the game. Their incredible presence currently keeps the format relevant, but this dominance also poses a challenge for India’s emerging talents like Ruturaj Gaikwad who are trying to break through.

Ashwin’s Bleak Outlook for ODI Cricket

Ravichandran Ashwin isn’t feeling too optimistic about 50-over cricket. He thinks it has a “bleak future” after the 2027 World Cup. It’s a pretty strong statement, you know? According to News18.com, Ashwin shared his worries on his Hindi YouTube channel. He feels Test cricket will always have a place. T20s are fine too, with all the fast pace and leagues. But ODIs? They’re kinda stuck in the middle.

They don’t have the context of, say, the World Test Championship. Bilateral ODIs just feel a bit… standalone. Teams use them to test out new or fringe players, which is good, but it doesn’t always draw big crowds.

“I am not sure about future of ODI after 2027 World Cup,” Ashwin said. “I am a little worried about it… I feel Test cricket still has space but ODI cricket, I truly feel (it) doesn’t have the space.”

He’s saying that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are basically holding the format together right now. Their return to domestic cricket, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, recently got people watching. That’s a big deal. For example, ticket sales for an ODI against South Africa really jumped after Kohli hit a century, as reported by Hindustan Times. This just shows how important these two players are. But Ashwin wonders, what happens when they’re gone?

Kohli and Rohit’s Comeback: A Double-Edged Sword

The 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy saw some huge names make a comeback. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played after long absences. Rohit hadn’t played domestic one-dayers since 2018. Kohli’s last non-ODI List A game was way back in 2013. That’s a really long time. He ended a streak of 195 consecutive international matches in the 50-over format. Pretty wild, right?

Their return drew massive attention. Kohli scored a century for Delhi against Andhra. Rohit played for Mumbai against Sikkim. These guys are still massive draws. ESPN stats show how rare it is for top international players to feature in domestic List A games. This highlights how cramped the international calendar is. And it makes domestic tournaments less important for established stars. But when Kohli and Rohit play, everyone watches. It makes the tournament relevant, exactly what Ashwin was talking about.

Kohli even became the fastest to reach 16,000 List A runs during this period. He’s also close to Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 60 List A centuries. Rohit also hit his ninth score of 150 or more in List A cricket. So, they still got it. But their sheer presence, while good for viewership, makes it super tough for younger players.

The Gaikwad Conundrum: Talent vs. Opportunity

Enter Ruturaj Gaikwad. He’s a really talented top-order batter. He just scored his maiden ODI hundred this month, which is great. But here’s the thing: he had already smacked 17 List A centuries before that first ODI hundred. That’s a crazy number! He’s been consistently good in the 50-over format for ages. He even scored a big hundred on his List A debut back in 2017.

So, why did it take so long for an ODI century? Well, only six of his 89 List A matches before the South Africa series were actually ODIs. He’s a top-order player, remember? And that means he’s competing directly with guys like Kohli and Rohit. It’s a tough spot.

He finally got a chance at No. 4 because Shreyas Iyer got injured. His 105 in Raipur was even more impressive because he’d never batted in the middle-order before in List A cricket. All his 86 previous innings were as a top-three batter. It kinda shows how good he is, adapting like that.

Gaikwad actually holds the record for most List A hundreds before getting one in ODIs. He surpassed Matthew Hayden, who also struggled to break into the Australian team because of strong existing players. Hayden’s first ODI hundred came in his 22nd match, after 127 non-ODI List A games. Michael Hussey is another example, a top-quality batter who had to wait because of Australia’s strong lineup. He had played 147 List A matches before his ODI debut. So, Gaikwad isn’t alone in this waiting game.

The Future: A Tight Squeeze for Emerging Stars

The international cricket calendar is pretty jammed. Domestic one-dayers, for established stars, don’t seem as important anymore. It’s a real shift in the game. More List A matches are now ODIs, which means less opportunity for domestic-only players to shine in that format. This creates a situation where young players have to learn 50-over cricket at the international level. Like Jacob Bethell for England, who got his first List A century in an ODI.

For India, with a strong pool of batters, guys like Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal face a big challenge. Padikkal has an amazing List A record too, with 11 hundreds in 35 matches and an average of 83.64. He’s earned T20I and Test caps, but not his best format yet.

They could follow the path of Hayden or Hussey, becoming regulars across formats once they get in. But there’s also the example of Brad Hodge, who had a great List A record but couldn’t consistently hold an ODI spot.

So, Ashwin’s worries about the ODI cricket future are pretty valid. When Kohli and Rohit do step aside, it’ll leave a huge void. It will also open up much-needed spots for guys like Gaikwad. But until then, it’s a tight squeeze. The format needs new stars, but the path for them is anything but easy right now.