Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin believes T20 cricket is here to stay but he is not sure about the future of ODI format. Twenty20 format has become the most popular format in the last two decades and the IPL has also played a key role in taking the sport to new heights.

Cricket is set to return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028 in the T20 format after an absence of 128 years, having last featured at the 1900 Paris Olympics.

“Look, I think there’s an Olympics that’s going to happen in a couple of years. And if cricket as a game is pretty serious about making it a global affair, the teams in this league will play a very crucial part in enabling that,” Ashwin was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

“Our job will be purely on T20 cricket and how it can get better. And if the game has to become global and it has to become an Olympic sport, the shorter the game, the more viable it is,” he added.

Ashwin questioned the long-term relevance of the 50-over format.

“And that’s how it’s going to become much bigger. And you will see a better sample size of players, which is also very critical for several of these leagues which run through the year. T20 as a sport is here to stay. I’m not too sure about ODI cricket,” said Ashwin.

The all-rounder is currently playing for the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States.

Earlier, former Australian skipper Ian Chappell had expressed concerns regarding the future of ODI cricket.

“The administrators’ short-sighted approach to 50-over playing conditions, their love affair with the financial benefits of T20, and the acquiescence of the players, has seen the middle format largely reduced to World Cup popularity,” wrote Chappell in a column for Cricinfo in 2023.