There is too much cricket: Ravi Shastri senses that big stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli could do without 1 format
New Delhi,UPDATED: March 19, 2023 4:15 PM IST
From India Today Sports Desk: Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri believes big players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be forced to abandon a format of the game as there is too much cricket.
The scheduling of the games has come under the spotlight after Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket. Stokes had cited an unsustainable schedule as the reason for his retirement from the 50-over format.
There has been talk of Rohit and Kohli continuing to be all-format players and Shastri believes they will be forced to drop one of the game’s forms.
Speaking to Sports Today, the former Indian manager believes that this would be the case not just for the Indian duo but for many players in the years to come as there is too much cricket.
Shastri pointed out that India played in two different venues in two different formats during his time as coach. The former manager said it was important to focus on the format, which needed to be emphasized this year.
“I think not only with Virat and Rohit. It will be the case for many players. There’s too much cricket. The volume of cricket is so big the T20 tournament could be held elsewhere with an Indian team. When I was a coach we were often in one country, India played against Sri Lanka or someone else in another country. So it will happen. You need to see what’s important to do this year and, accordingly, get players to focus primarily on playing those games.
“So if there is a World Cup of 50-over cricket coming up, the focus has to be on 50-over cricket. If the emphasis is on T20, then decide who your core of 15-18 players is,” Shastri said.
