Ganguly, Sachin differ on ODI format

KOLKATA: Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is not on the same page as his former opening partner Sachin Tendulkar, who has suggested revamping of the one day international cricket format.

Unlike Tendulkar, Ganguly feels the current ODI format is here to stay.

"We already have a 20-over format, so why another 25 over game? The 50 over game has done well. We saw such a hugely successful World Cup in India. The format is doing wonderful which was evident in the recently concluded India-England series," said Ganguly.

Ganguly thinks the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Tendulkar's proposal not for any cricketing reasons, but because it came from an Indian.

"It is no surprise that it (Sachin's suggestion) has been rejected. There is a huge idea or belief in world cricket that India is the power and dominates world cricket. At the moment it just gives me a feeling that oh! It has come from them, so lets put it on hold, India are too big," said Ganguly at a product launch event.

Earlier, cricketing legend Tendulkar sent a letter to ICC chief Haroon Lorgat suggesting the current ODI format of two innings of 50 over each be changed to four innings of 25 over each.

The ICC on Wednesday dismissed the suggestion saying there was no scope for change in the format at the moment.

Ganguly, the new designated chairperson of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) technical committee, toed the board's line saying the Umpire Decision Referral System (UDRS) needs to improve a lot to become acceptable.

"The UDRS is an issue and I completely agree with BCCI's thought on the system. From what I saw in the India versus England and Australia versus Sri Lanka Series the system needs a lot of improvement. It needs lot of updating before it becomes foolproof," added Ganguly.

Posted in: T20 Cricket