Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that the interest in 50-over cricket is slowly dying amid the rise of franchise cricket and Test cricket as the traditional format. The future of the ODI format, apart from the all-important World Cup, has been under the scanner amid the decreasing impact of bilateral series and a lack of a qualification system for tournaments as well.

“I think international cricket should get more attention, because it is a fun of its own. If India is playing against Australia, England, or South Africa, I would love to watch it. I would pay money to go and watch Test cricket. I have absolutely no interest in ODI cricket, I have seen it and it is over. In my opinion, Test cricket is the main cricket, and whatever needs to be done to keep it alive, it should be done by the ICC and everyone else,” Harbhajan Singh told PTI.

Meanwhile, former India all-rounder and coach Ravi Shastri had also predicted cricket’s radical shift to franchise cricket a few years back as well.

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“I think 70 percent of the transformation has already been done. If I talk about international cricket, if India plays against Australia, whether it be in Australia or India, there is viewership for that. But if India plays against Sri Lanka or Afghanistan, then that viewership is not there,” Harbhajan Singh shared again.

“But when it comes to The Hundred or the BBL, the grounds are full there. In the IPL, people are not able to get tickets. So, that culture has already developed, people’s interest is there for only those 2 months, so that shift has already arrived, international cricket has taken a backseat a little. To get it back to where it was, it might be a little difficult,” he concluded.