Rajasthan Royals Owner Proposes New Plan For Red-ball Cricket

With the ever-rising popularity of T20 cricket, the viability of Tests and ODIs has been debated in recent times. There has been a clamour to make Test cricket a four-day affair. While the future of Test cricket still remains to be uncertain, Rajasthan Royals owner Manoj Badale has now come up with a brand new proposal to make the longest format of the game thrive. Badale feels that Test cricket can be a short once-a-year event just like Wimbledon.

“We can make Test cricket work if we make it more of an event. We should have it at the same time every year, played between a small set of nations that can actually afford it and Lord’s becomes like a Wimbledon, an event that is the diary,” the owner of the Rajasthan-based franchise told on the BBC Tailenders podcast.

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But Test cricket is not the only format which is facing a crisis at this point in time. Uncertainty seems to be looming large over the ODIs too. There are several incidents to ascertain that the 50-over format is on the brink of extinction. Citing a jam-packed schedule, England Test skipper Ben Stokes decided to announce his retirement from ODI cricket in July last year. South Africa abandoned their ODI tour of Australia last year. The Proteas had to give it a miss as the ODI series clashed with the commencement of their domestic T20 competition.

England’s Test team hosted New Zealand last summer while their limited-overs squad toured the Netherlands. The International Cricket Council (ICC), however, played down the threats to ODI cricket. But Badale has some other views on this highly contentious matter.

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“There are too many formats. I would be more worried about the ODI game right now,” he said.

Coming back to this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals are currently placed in fourth position in the standings. After playing nine matches, the Sanju Samson-led side have collected 10 points. In their next assignment, the IPL 2008 winners will be up against Gujarat Titans in Jaipur on Friday. Rajasthan will head into the contest after suffering a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians.

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