Instant gratification is hurting 50-over cricket in particular: Kevin Pietersen

Even though Test cricket has failed to democratize itself, the top teams like India, Australia, and England have made sure the format is in good health in their respective countries. T20 cricket is mushrooming like never before and having multiple leagues at the same time is the normal order of the day. The format that hurt the most due to lack of innovation is the ODI format and it is at a stage where, beyond the World Cup, there has been no interest in it whatsoever. 

Kevin Pietersen, while stating that not winning the 50-Over World Cup was one of the regrets in his career, added that the format is hurting because it doesn’t provide any instant gratification.

"We can't say that cricket would be better off without ODIs because we're not there yet. We may see it in the future though the World Cup is such a valuable item. In my career, I was able to win everything except for the 50-over World Cup. We won the Ashes, we beat India in India, and we won the T20 World Cup. I never got the 50-over World Cup. So, it's one of those regrets,” Pietersen told Cricbuzz.

"Earlier, once we boarded a plane we would not know what was happening to a game. Now we're on an aeroplane and I'm speaking to people in three different planes in three different places talking about work. So that instant gratification is what is actually, I think, hurting the longer format of the games. I think it's hurting 50 over cricket in particular.”

The biggest cricketing story of 2022 was the way England changed their Test approach and became successful in changing the results around, under the captain-coaching combo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Pietersen stated that India need to learn the same from the England team and make Test cricket exciting.

"I think it's a mindset. I think they've got a coach that is making sure that they're not scared of failing. They don't care about getting out, they just go out and play.

"I think India should follow it. I think India bats too slowly despite having the players. They have the players but still... I think they must go out there and emulate what England are doing. You saw what Australia used to do in cricket all those years ago, people started to match Australia or England or change the way the shortest form of the game was played. Even Test match cricket can be played that way by the Indian team,” Pietersen, who is in South Africa to commentate in the ongoing SA20, added.