Former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin is worried about the future of ODI cricket. While talking about this, he said that people started watching Vijay Hazare Trophy matches also when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma made a comeback in it, so when these legends retire after the 2027 World Cup, its popularity will reduce rapidly. However, Ashwin also suggested how the popularity of ODI cricket can be maintained and how this format can be kept alive.

Ravichandran Ashwin while talking on his YouTube channel said, “Nothing can be said for sure about the ODI format after the ODI World Cup to be held in 2027. I am worried about it. I am following the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but the way I followed the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, it is a bit difficult to follow. There is a need to know what the audience wants. I think there is still room for Test cricket, but I “Looks like there’s no room for ODIs.”

What will happen to ODI after the retirement of Kohli and Rohit?

Ashwin further said, “People saw it when Rohit and Virat came back in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. I always say that the game is bigger than the cricketer, but sometimes these players have to come back to make the game relevant. What will happen when they retire?”

Ashwin further said, “At one time ODI was a great format. It gave players like MS Dhoni who used to take singles for 10-15 overs and then bat stormy in the end. Now you do not have players like Dhoni and there is no need to play like that because now the match is played with 2 balls and there is also a rule of five fielders inside the circle.”

‘ODI series closed, only World Cup should happen’

However, Ashwin not only talked about the concerns but also gave his opinion on how to make ODI cricket important. According to him, ICC should learn from FIFA, ODI series should be stopped and ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy should be organized in just 4 years. Ashwin said, “There are so many leagues in football, but FIFA organizes the World Cup every four years. The World Cup has value.”

Ashwin said, “If you really want to make the ODI format necessary, then the World Cup should be held every four years but there should not be an ODI series, instead a T20 series should be played. With this, the board will also select those players who are doing well in domestic cricket.”

Due to an additional batting option in the T20 series against Australia, Harshit Rana is getting a place in the playing 11, while fast bowler Arshdeep is not getting a place in the playing eleven. Former cricketer R Ashwin has also raised questions regarding this, he said that he (Arshdeep) should be with Bumrah. He was seen angry at the team management.

The journalist who was talking to Ashwin in the show ‘Aish Ki Baat’ on YouTube channel asked, “How difficult is it to keep Arshdeep out of Melbourne? Because there is a debate going on about it. On this, Ashwin said, “I am tired of answering this question. When you talk about Arshdeep Singh, the question arises as to whose place he can play. He can replace only one person, that is Harshit Rana. But the problem is that today’s debate is whether we played with an extra spinner? Perhaps, on a pitch where we saw so much bounce and spice, we could have played with an extra fast bowler along with Harshit Rana.”

Arshdeep should be the second main fast bowler- Ashwin

Ashwin further said, “But my point is that Arshdeep Singh’s name should be in the list as the second main fast bowler when Bumrah is playing, if Bumrah is not playing then Arshdeep should be the first main fast bowler. I am not able to understand how Arshdeep Singh can be left out of the playing 11. I really don’t understand.”

Ashwin made it clear in his words that there is no talk of ousting Harshit Rana, but it is only for Arshdeep Singh. He said, “Harshit Rana made a good contribution with the bat today, this is not about him at all, it is about Arshdeep Singh. The performance he has shown in the T20 World Cup 2024, since then he has been out of the team continuously. He was kept on the bench so many times that his rhythm got disturbed a bit.”

He further added, “We saw in the Asia Cup, he bowled well, he made very good comeback spells, but he looked a bit out of form. Even your champion bowler will fade away if you don’t play him. It is a really difficult situation for Arshdeep and I hope he starts getting the place he deserves. He deserves a place in the team and it is not about anyone else, please play him.”

Australia defeated India by 7 wickets in the rain-affected first ODI. India’s batting, which came to bat first after losing the toss, disappointed, Virat Kohli (0) and Rohit Sharma (8), playing international matches after 224 days, flopped. Captain Shubhman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer also did not play. India scored 136 runs in 26 overs of play. Chasing the target, Australia won in 21.1 overs. After this, former cricketer R Ashwin raised questions regarding the playing 11. He said that the batsmen will have to do the batting, they will have to take responsibility and the team will also have to focus on bowling.

What did R Ashwin say

While talking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin first said that it was a bad day for Team India because due to rain, the overs were reduced and the toss was lost. Raising questions on the playing 11, he said, “I can understand why there are two spinners along with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, because he wants depth in batting. Washington and Akshar can bat, but pay some attention to bowling also. These are big grounds, and if Kuldeep does not bowl with freedom on such grounds then where will he bowl.”

He further said, “He wants depth in batting, if you want to win the match with batting then the batsmen have to take responsibility, it is the role of the batsmen to score runs. You play better bowlers, do not play them just because you want extra batsmen.

Ravi Ashwin thrashed Gautam Gambhir for dropping Kuldeep Yadav & playing too many all rounders.

“Please focus on bowling too, if Kuldeep can’t bowl on these big grounds with freedom then where is he gonna bowl? They will talk about this batting depth but it is batter’s job to… pic.twitter.com/C4Uphr4Ed6

— Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) October 19, 2025

How many all-rounders do you need – Ashwin

In the first ODI against Australia, India had played 3 all-rounders in the playing 11. Nitish Kumar Reddy made his debut, Akshar Patel and Washington Sundar were playing with him as all-rounders. Ashwin said, “How many all-rounders do you want, there are three all-rounders. There was a time when there was not even a single all-rounder. There are Nitish, Vashi (Washington Sundar), Akshar. With Nitish, you cannot play with the two best spinners, so I cannot understand it.”