Reduce ODI World Cup to 40-overs-a-side contest: Ravi Shastri
Ahmedabad, Mar 12: With the ODI World Cup in India less than seven months away, former India chief coach Ravi Shastri has raised the pitch for future editions of the ICC tournament to be 40-overs-a-side affair to give it a fresh lease of life.
"For One-day cricket to survive, I think it should be reduced to 40-over game in future," said the former India captain on day four of the fourth India-Australia Test here on Sunday.
Shastri said the game should address the diminishing attention span of spectators and pointed out that when the Kapil Dev-led India won the ODI World Cup in 1983, it was a 60-over-a-side tournament before it was reduced to a 50-over affair.
"The reason I say this is because when we won the World Cup in 1983, it was a 60-over (a side) game. Then the attention span of the people diminished and it became a 50-over game. I think the time has come for it to become now a 40-over game. Evolve with the times. Reduce the format," added Shastri.
While Shastri's logic about attention span is justified but once the World Cup moved to the sub-continent in 1987, it wasn't possible to hold matches over 120-over duration with two breaks -- lunch and tea like it happened during first three editions in England.
The legendary cricketer said that the T20 format will continue to bring big bucks into the game, though he made his displeasure known for bilateral T20I series, saying they "should be reduced".
Shastri is also a big advocate of reduced number of bilateral series.
"T20 format I think is the key. It is the injection the game needs to evolve. It's the cash cow for the sport. But I think there also the bilaterals (series) should be reduced. There are enough domestic leagues around the world that promote the T20 game.
"We should let those leagues happen and then have a World Cup, just in between. Very few bilaterals, if needed before a World Cup or something of that sort. Then you can sustain all three formats," added Shastri.
The former player added that Test cricket will continue to enjoy its pride of place as it was the "real thing".
"Test cricket will remain Test cricket and it should be given paramount importance. It's the real thing. I think there's a place for all formats within India. Especially in the subcontinent. Especially in places like Australia."
India cricketer Dinesh Karthik also said ODI format was losing it charm and that the World Cup in India in October-November this year could be the last edition.
"ODI format has lost its charm. We may see the last World Cup later this year or maybe one more after that. People wants to see Test cricket, which is the truest form of cricket and T20 for entertainment," said Karthik.
He added that with so much of cricket happening around the world to go with the mushrooming domestic T20 leagues, the ODI format had been caught in "no man's land".
"Test cricket is like art movies and T20 is commercial cinema. ODIs are present in no man's land. Take the example of Ben Stokes, the best all-rounder of the current times saying he is done with the ODI cricket.
"There is a fact that with a T20 World Cup scheduled every two years, countries will not be playing bilateral series anymore. There won't be enough ODI matches."
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
