West Indies batting legend Sir Viv Richards is hoping that one-day cricket stays. Speaking exclusively to mid-day on Wednesday at the DY Patil Stadium during the South Africa Masters v Sri Lanka Masters match in the International Masters League, Richards said: “I am hoping that it [ODI cricket] stays. There were talks of looking to get rid of it. Everyone is basically involved with the shorter version and the T20s. When you look at what’s taken place with the Champions Trophy, to me, it’s a great version and I am just hoping that with the attendance in most of the matches so far, they will use that as some sort of inspiration for the game to continue.”

Richards is in Navi Mumbai as member of the governing council of the IML. He only had special words of praise for Virat Kohli. Richards termed Kohli’s unbeaten 100 against Pakistan last Sunday in the Champions Trophy as “brilliant.” He added: “To be fair, you can’t ask much of Virat Kohli. He is a class act. When you have an individual who has achieved so much and is getting on in life, you can’t expect him to be the same as when he was 21 or 22. You’ve got to love him, appreciate him for what he stands for, his beliefs, his competitive nature and his representation of the country. You can’t get any better than that.”