Rahul Dravid backs Tendulkar suggestion on new ODI format

It might have been rejected by the ICC but Sachin Tendulkar's suggestion to revamp the ODIs by splitting the format into four innings of 25 overs each has got the backing of his Test teammate Rahul Dravid.

"It is interesting (suggestion). I don't know why the ICC has rejected it (Tendulkar's suggestion via a letter to ICC), but it's a good idea that Sachin has given and is worth experimenting," said India's batting mainstay on the England tour on the sidelines of a promotional event for 'Gillette' here last night.

"It has been tried out in Australia (in domestic cricket) and the plus and minus points should be looked into," he added.

Tendulkar had written a letter to the ICC to change the format of the ODIs from two innings of 50 overs to four of 25 overs like a Test match but the world council's Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat had rejected it.

"There is no need to change the format," Lorgat told reporters in Colombo on Wednesday.

"We did receive a written proposal from Sachin, but that was a long time back. I myself have spoken to him many times about it, the last one as recent as during the World Cup in April. The success of the tournament showed that the 50-over format was sound in health and there was no need for dramatic changes," Lorgat added.

"The executive board meeting after the World Cup decided that the present format was doing well. That has not changed," Lorgat stressed.

Tendulkar had argued that four innings of 25 overs would be a fair way to balance the advantage gained by the team which won the toss in conditions such as bad weather, sub-quality pitches which historically had proven that a match can virtually be decided by the toss of a coin.

... contd.

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