Khawaja tips bleak future for ODI format

Usman Khawaja says one-day international cricket is ‘‘dying’’ and he’s not surprised England’s Ben Stokes has quit the format.

Stokes, 31, brought the demands of international cricket on players into sharp focus when he confirmed his 105th ODI appearance for England against South Africa would be his last.

The allrounder, who has taken over as England’s test captain, says authorities can’t treat players like ‘‘cars’’ and there was ‘‘too much cricket rammed in’’ to realistically compete in all three formats – test, Twenty20 and ODIs – at international level.

Test opener Khawaja, who hasn’t played limited overs cricket for Australia since 2019, says it’s clear to him something has to give on the international calendar – and it’s most likely to be 50-over matches.

‘‘My own personal opinion – I know a few of the guys are very similar – you’ve got test cricket, which is the pinnacle, you’ve got T20 cricket, which obviously has leagues around the world, great entertainment, everyone loves it, and then there’s one-day cricket,’’ Khawaja said.

‘‘I feel like that’s probably the third-ranked out of all of them.

‘‘I think personally one-day cricket is dying a slow death ... there’s still the World Cup, which I think is really fun and it’s enjoyable to watch, but other than that, even myself personally, I’m probably not into one-day cricket as much either.’’

Khawaja’s thoughts were expressed as Cricket Australia released tickets for this summer’s international calendar yesterday.

That schedule opens with ODIs against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, all to be played in Townsville and Cairns in September ahead of October’s T20 World Cup.

It’s a far cry from the glory days of 50-over cricket in the 1980s and 1990s when an annual triangular series in Australia packed stadiums and turned into a television winner for Cricket Australia and the Nine Network.