Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin is against the usage of two new balls and five fielders outside the circle in One-Day Internationals. He has urged ICC to get rid of the them in order to make cricket an even contest between bat and ball. He has also raised concerns over the future of ODI cricket if these two rules continue to exist. "Before this Afghanistan versus England match, I was wondering whether there is any future for ODI cricket. Let's be very honest with it. In T20Is, there is so much crowd engagement, 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 improves," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat.
Ashwin suggested that the rule was introduced to nullify India's spin advantage in the middle overs.
"But in ODIs, 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 meant to nullify India's spin domination. That is just my take," he added.
Ashwin also highlighted how the two new ball rule has taken the reverse-swing equation out of ODIs. He also feels that the ICC is close to taking a call regarding the future of ODI cricket
"I think that is impacting the game massively because reverse swing is gone from the game now. The role of finger spin has also been reduced. The 50-over World Cup (2027) in South Africa is going to be a real challenge for the ICC. It is on 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: is there a place for 50-over cricket in today's game?"
"Until this Afghanistan vs England game, this Champions Trophy was just so monotonous. There used to be a time when one-day cricket was played with the red ball. It is time to seriously give it a thought about this particular format of the game," Ashwin explained.
As of now, only 33 ODIs are scheduled to be played by full ICC members in 2025, after the ongoing Champions Trophy.