Sachin Tendulkar calls ODI ‘boring’, suggests major rule changes

Former India opener Sachin Tendulkar says in order to preserve the supremacy and popularity of Test cricket intact, one shouldn’t look at how many days the match concludes, but instead the focus should be on getting more spectators. He is also not enjoying ODI cricket going on at the moment and he said that if the format is changed then he won’t mind it.

The recent conclusion of the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia ended with Rohit Sharma‘s side winning the series 2-1. All three matches finished within three days and the pitch was getting all the criticism but the 49-year-old asserted that cricketers have to play on different pitches in every match and it is nothing to worry about.

“We need to understand one thing Test cricket should be engaging and it should not be about how many days it lasts, five days or whatever. We (cricketers) are meant to play on different surfaces; be it a bouncy track, a fast track, slow track, turning track, swinging conditions, seaming conditions with different balls,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying on Sports Tak

The most important factor is the kind of surface that we play on: Sachin Tendulkar

The Mumbai-born cricketer stated that there was no harm in matches lasting three days at a time when the Apex Cricket Cricket Council, Melbourne Cricket Council, and other cricketing authorities are discussing how to make Test cricket interesting and the No. 1 format. Moreover, visiting teams should make careful preparations rather than assuming they would receive everything very easily.

“When you tour, there are not easy conditions. You need to understand what’s happening, assess everything and then start planning things. For me, the most important factor is the kind of surface that we play on because that is the heart of Test cricket,” the right-hand batter added.

“All the guys, including the Cricket Governing Body, Melbourne Cricket Council, etc, we are talking about Test cricket. How Test cricket can continue to be the No.1 format. So, if we want that, then we need to have something for the bowlers because bowlers ask a question (off) every ball and the batter has to answer that. So, if that question itself is not interesting enough, how are you going to have more eyeballs,” the former Mumbai franchise skipper concluded.