Jos Buttler fears ODI cricket may be dying out

Jos Buttler admits he has concerns over the future of ODI cricket, with the English captain saying the 50-over format has been pushed to the margins in recent years.

The 34-year-old’s comments come as England take on India in the first of three ODIs this Thursday ahead of the Champions Trophy beginning later in February.

“I’ve always enjoyed 50-over cricket,” he said on Wednesday in Nagpur.

“It’s always been one of my favourite formats.

“But it’s certainly been pushed a little bit towards the margins in recent years, with the way the scheduling is and the rise of T20 and franchise cricket.”

England are ranked seventh in the world in ODIs — their lowest position among all three cricket formats — despite winning the Cricket World Cup just six years ago.

They are at long odds to defeat India on Thursday across the best cricket betting sites, paying as high as +175 to prevail.

Buttler claims that 50-over success still holds weight for him but may not be the same for the next generation of cricketers.

“I still think if you talk to guys about winning a World Cup, they’d probably say a 50-over World Cup ahead of a T20 World Cup at the moment,” he said.

“Whether that continues to be the case moving forward, I don’t know.

“I always think of the ‘99 World Cup being something I watched as a kid.

“Maybe for the 20-year-olds now it’s all about T20 World Cups.

“If you can pit your best teams against each other and you put your best players out there, I think that’s the way to keep 50-over cricket relevant.”

England will field close to their strongest side against India, with Joe Root returning after missing out on the recent T20 series.

But they will need a significant result if their outright betting odds are to shift heading into the Champions Trophy.

England are on the third line of title betting at +600 with top online bookmakers, with India (+200) and Australia (+350) leading the market.

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