Feels like ODI cricket is heading towards the end and there's nothing you can do, observes Moeen Ali

“It just feels like it’s going that way and there’s nothing almost you can do because I think the interest in 50-over cricket is not there as it probably once was. So yeah, having won it in 2019 it’s a difficult one because I genuinely feel in two to three years' time, nobody’s going to want to play it," he told Cricket365.

The speculation around ODIs began with the growing popularity of T20s, and the two consecutive World T20s in 2021 and 2022 have seen international cricket mainly being played in the game's shortest format. At the same time, franchise competitions like the Indian Premier League have continued to grow bigger than ever while new ventures such as the South African T20 League and the United Arab Emirates International League T20 have also shown up on the horizon.

The final warning bell came in the form of Ben Stokes' retirement from ODIs after he confessed the schedule was becoming too hectic for him. Ali has predicted that might become a common trend in the coming days given there seems to be no respite in the international calendar.

“At the moment it’s not sustainable in my opinion. Something has to be done because I fear losing the 50-over format in a couple of years, because it’s almost like the long, boring one if that makes sense. It’s almost like you’ve got T20s, you’ve got the Test matches, which are great and then the 50 overs is just in the middle there’s no importance given to at the moment. So yeah, I think there’s too much. Personally, I feel like there’s too much going on,” the veteran concluded.