As cricket grapples with a massive scheduling problem, former India coach Ravi Shastri has called for reduction in T20 bilateral series, saying franchise cricket can be encouraged instead. As per ICC's next Futures Tours & Programme's (FTP) draft, there is set to be a massive increase in T20s and the IPL is also set to have a two and-a-half-month exclusive window. With the increasing number of matches, multi-format players are feeling the load. England's premier all-rounder Ben Stokes shocked everyone be announcing retirement from ODIs on Monday.

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The 31-year-old said playing three formats had become "unsustainable" for him. Earlier this month, Cricket South Africa had decided to pull-out of their ODI series against Australia to ensure their players would be available for their new domestic T20 competition. "I would be a little careful of the number of bilateral splits, especially in T20 cricket. There's a lot of franchise cricket which can be encouraged, whichever country it's in - India, West Indies, or Pakistan," Shastri said on a Telegraph's Sport's podcast.