Taking over the T20 league? Ricky Ponting fears ODI cricket will be “played less” in the coming years.

Ricky Ponting has admitted he is worried about where ODI cricket is heading, with the former Australia captain worried the 50-over format could be gradually displaced by the ever-growing presence of T20 cricket around the world.Ponting, one of the most successful ODI batsmen in cricket history with 13,704 runs in the format, believes the growing number of franchise competitions could leave limited space for 50-over cricket in the coming years. While he isn’t excited about the prospect, he feels it could become an inevitable consequence of the changing game.

“Over-50 cricket is likely to be played less”

“As the months go by and the years go by and more and more T20 cricket is played and more franchises and franchise tournaments start around the world, it’s more and more likely that over-50 cricket will probably be played less. It’s inevitable, which to be honest, I’m not a big fan of,” Ponting told PTI.The former Australia captain was speaking during an interaction facilitated by the World Championship of Legends, where he is set to co-own the Australia Champions franchise.

Ponting is confident about Test cricket

Despite his concerns about ODIs, Ponting is confident that Test cricket will retain its place at the top level, provided major cricketing nations continue to favor the longest format. The Australian believes that India, Australia, England and South Africa will play a key role in keeping Test cricket strong.“I love playing this format of the game but something has to give somewhere. Test cricket will continue to be strong as long as India, Australia, England and probably South Africa want Test cricket to remain strong. It will. So something has to give. And that is obviously, 50-over cricket,” he said.