T20 has triggered off identity crisis for ODIs

The wheel has come full circle for cricket. In the early 1960s, the shortened version of the game, One-dayers, was created to inject thrill and pace into the staid world of Test cricket.
Now T20 has triggered off an identity crisis for ODIs. The 50 over-a-side version seems to be falling between two stools. It is neither pleasing Test-loving purists, nor giving adrenaline-rush addicts the required high.
Not that the ODI is history - at least not yet.The full houses in Bangalore and Kochi means that 50-50 still retains its box-office pull. But what remains to be seen is whether the crowd's thrill quotient is as high as it was before.
Former international player Abbas Ali Baig points out that both ODI and T20 are different versions of the game and should not be compared. But he also admits that the comparison is unavoidable now.
"There is a lot of pace and momentum in the T20 version. In the ODIs, the spurts come in stages. The ODIs give you time to strategise and regroup. It is a much more measured operation," says Baig. In other words, T20 papers over the weaknesses in a side whereas, relatively speaking, the ODIs expose them.
Social scientist Ashis Nandy prefers ODIs to T20. "There's too much luck involved in T20. The Indian fan would be happy to find a Ten10. Then by sheer law of probability every country will have a chance to win. In ODI, at least some strategy and technique is involved," says Nandy, also author of The Tao of Cricket.
At the moment, though, Nandy's seems a minority view. And might continue to be so, unless India can pull off a few thrilling victories over the next few matches.