ODI Cricket Still Has Two World Events: Will Young

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Vadodara- The relevance and context of ODI cricket has been questioned time and again but New Zealand batter Will Young on Friday pointed out that the format still has two“world events with so much wonderful history”.

On a breezy Friday noon, a new-look New Zealand side spent nearly three hours sweating it out ahead of the three-match ODI series to kickstart a long tour of the Indian subcontinent, which also includes a five-match T20I series followed by the T20 World Cup next month.

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With a heavy dose of T20 cricket lined up - some of their players will also feature in the Indian Premier League - Young acknowledged that the three-match ODI series, starting here on Sunday, could be lost in the“greater context”.

“Especially with the T20 World Cup round the corner, it is easy to have the series lost in the greater context,” Young told the media here at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium.

“(But) when you're playing for your country, there should always be those two things (passion and motivation). It is a slightly different format from Test and T20 cricket, and these days you probably play a little bit less as well.”

“But you've got to remember, there's still two ICC world events - the Champions Trophy and the World Cup - which has had so much wonderful history over such a long time,” Young added.

Young, who was the Player of the Series when the Kiwis left India shellshocked with a 3-0 win in the Test series in 2024-25, admitted it was his best performance in the longest format.

“You'd have to put it right at the top, yeah,” he said.

Young said there will be no thought of avenging the loss to India in the final of the Champions Trophy as the Kiwis are not thinking on those lines.

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