If Cricket Australia has its way, Sachin Tendulkar may bat twice in ODIs

Mumbai: Once out, Sachin Tendulkar has a superstition of not removing his pads till the end of the innings. He may soon have to keep the pads on to come out and bat again.

A new rule is being mooted to allow a key player, or even two, to bat twice one-day internationals. This is one among the many changes contemplated by Cricket Australia (CA) to resuscitate the popularity of one-day cricket, which is facing extinction following the upsurge of the Twenty20 format. CA wants to initially experiment with the rule in its domestic circuit this year, but its target is to have such a practice in place by the 2015 World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand.

“We are looking at ideas which could run on a trial basis in our inter-state one-day competition next summer. If the trial is successful, we will take the results to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for assessment for possible use in international cricket after the 2011 World Cup,” Peter Young, Cricket Australia’s communications manager, told DNA.

He said a batsman will be allowed to bat again in the second innings of the 50-50 format, which is to be split into two innings of 25-overs each. “There is a possibility of one or two of the top order batsmen already dismissed coming back to bat instead of the tail-enders in the second innings,” he said. The ICC refused to comment on CA’s proposal. “We’ve no comments,” Dave Richardson, ICC’s general manager, said.

Among other ideas that have been proposed are a dinner break after two innings, liberal leg-side rule and allowing two bouncers per over.

“The ideas are designed to come up with a format, which is more strategic than T20, faster-paced than Test cricket, simple to understand, a more competitive contest between bat and ball, a format that rewards skill and is not predictable in its outcome. It is also a format which would allow fans to arrive at venues after work or school and see the home side bat and bowl,” Young said.

The CA, Young said, has zeroed in on the changes after an ‘extensive research’ and ‘mass survey’, which has revealed that there is a strong support for one-day internationals from fans and others. “But there is a risk of declining support unless we refresh the format and give it a distinctively different identity to T20,” Young said. He added CA has also taken inputs from Australia’s international and domestic players apart from the sponsors and media.