R Ashwin: Rule of having 5 fielders in circle and 2 new balls was implemented to nullify India’s spin domination in middle overs

R Ashwin has made a strong plea to do away with the second new ball and the extra fielder inside the circle to restore the balance between bat and ball in ODI cricket and ICC must give it a thought about this particular format of the game. Ashwin also questioned the relevance of the ODI cricket and how the matches in the ongoing Champions Trophy is so monotonous.

“Before this Afghanistan versus England match I was wondering whether there is any future for ODI cricket,” Ashwin said on his Hindi YouTube channel “Ash Ki Baat.”

“Let’s be very honest with it. In T20Is, there is so much crowd, and consumption is high because it ends inside four hours. I feel Test cricket will excel more once the first-class structure of teams like Afghanistan will improve.

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“But in ODI there is no contest. Until 2013-14, ODI cricket was played with one ball. Before 2015, the new rule was implemented where five fielders were allowed in the circle and two balls were introduced. I think in many ways that rule was to nullify India’s spin domination. That is just my take.”

Ashwin, who has spoken on the subject before, said that having two new balls eliminated reverse swing from the game, and said the rule was brought in to nullify India’s spin domination in the middle overs.

“I think that is impacting the game massively. Because reverse swing is gone from the game now. Role of finger spin was also reduced.

“The 50 over World Cup (2027) in South Africa is going to be a real challenge for the ICC. It is at the brink of a decision being made. Because the game is going so slow. It’s meandering along. I have a question in my mind that is there a place for 50 overs in today’s cricket?

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“Until this Afghanistan vs England game. This champions trophy was just so monotonous,” he said.

Ashwin also bats for playing ODI with the red-ball.

“There used to be a time where one-day used to be play with the red ball. It is time to seriously give it a thought about this particular format of the game,” he said.

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