I Genuinely Feel In Two To Three Years Time, Nobody’s Going To Want To Play ODIs: Moeen Ali

Moeen Ali, an all-around player for England, said that ODI cricket would be lost if the unworkable local and the international schedule is not changed. 

The 50-over game has been under scrutiny since Ben Stokes’ retirement, and many experts want it removed from the international schedule. 

Interest In 50-Over Cricket Is Not There: Moeen Ali

In an interview with Cricket365, Ali expressed his belief that ODIs may go down in history due to the declining popularity of the 50-over format. The England all-rounder also asserted that players wouldn’t be drawn to the limited-overs format in a few years. 

“It just feels like it’s going that way and there’s nothing almost you can do because I think the interest in 50-over cricket is not there as it probably once was.” 

“So yeah, having won it in 2019 it’s a difficult one because I genuinely feel in two to three years time, nobody’s going to want to play it.” 

“It’s a bit like our domestic stuff here at the moment, there’s the Hundred while the 50-over is going on and there’s not that much interest in it compared to the County Championship, the Vitality Blast and the Hundred,” said Ali. 

There’s Too Much Going On: Moeen Ali

With so many events being staged each year, Ali said that we could see more players retire. The all-rounder for England claimed that he believes the present schedule is unsustainable and that the 50-over format would eventually be abandoned. 

“International cricket in all three formats is by far the best cricket to play. There’s no doubt about that, but I do worry there are so many tournaments out there that players are retiring more now and you’ll see more retiring soon.” 

“At the moment it’s not sustainable in my opinion. Something has to be done because I fear losing the 50-over format in a couple of years, because it’s almost like the long, boring one if that makes sense. 

“It’s almost like you’ve got T20s, you’ve got the Test matches, which are great and then the 50 overs is just in the middle there’s no importance given to at the moment. 

“So yeah, I think there’s too much. Personally, I feel like there’s too much going on,” said Ali. 

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