Ravichandran Ashwin has sounded an alarm that Indian cricket can’t afford to shrug off: the 50-over game could start feeling optional once the Rohit Sharma–Virat Kohli era winds down. On his YouTube show Ash ki Baat, the off-spinner framed it less as nostalgia and more as a warning about attention, habit, and what fans actually choose to watch.
The backdrop is an ODI calendar that has thinned out in recent years for top sides, even as the next Men’s ODI World Cup in 2027 is already on the horizon.
Relevance is a fragile thing
“I am not sure about the future of ODI after the 2027 World Cup. I am a little worried about it. Of course, I am following the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but the manner in which I followed SMAT, I am finding it slightly difficult to follow,” said Ashwin.
Ravichandran Ashwin argued that Test cricket will retain its space even in a T20-first age, but ODIs may not enjoy the same guarantee.
“Also, we need to know what the audience wants to watch. I feel Test cricket still has space, but ODI cricket, I truly feel, doesn’t have the space,” said Ashwin, who has 156 wickets in 116 ODIs.
The most telling part of his statement is how quickly the domestic 50-over competition became must-see once India’s biggest name turned up.
“Look, Rohit and Virat came back to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and people started watching it. We have known that sport is always bigger than individuals, but at times these players need to come back to make the game relevant,” he observed.
“Vijay Hazare Trophy, of course, is a domestic competition that not a lot of people follow, but they did because Virat and Rohit were playing. Even then, what happens when they stop playing ODIs?” he wondered.
That question also overlaps with the BCCI’s recent push for contracted players to feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with the selection panel communicating a “play at least two games” expectation in the gap before India’s next ODI block. Ashwin’s larger point: if the format needs superstars to pull eyeballs every time, the sport’s middle order is already wobbling.
