Rohit Sharma bats for return of multi-team series in limited-overs cricket

India captain Rohit Sharma has backed the return of multi-team series in limited-overs as it will help teams to recover well in between matches. He has also mentioned that it won't compromise the quality of cricket.

Over the years, teams have had a cricket-packed calendar with just a day of cooling period. In the recently concluded T20I series between India and England, the second and third games were played on consecutive days.

Rohit said that managing the scheduling in a better way could bring back the tri-series or quadrangular series culture that would give teams the time to recover and maintain the momentum in matches.

In an interaction ahead of the third ODI against England, Rohit was asked if bilateral series are losing relevance with the advent of more T20 leagues across the world and a growingly busy calendar. To which, the Indian skipper replied,"I do think it is important but it can be managed in a better way for sure. The scheduling has to be done with some space as well. You have to play bilateral series.

There was a time, when we were kids, I grew up, I watched a lot of tri-series or quadrangular series, but that has completely stopped. I think that can be a way forward so that there is enough time for a team to recover and get back."

Rohit, who replaced Virat Kohli as India's captain across formats recently, went on to add that the quality of cricket cannot be compromised and the scheduling can be managed better by the cricketing boards.

"These all are high-pressure games that we play, whenever you represent your country, you want to come out with a lot of intensity. You do not want to compromise on that so of course, I do understand when we play the bilateral series, the scheduling, time between each game can be managed slightly better, not just from India's perspective, but all boards," added Rohit..

The Indian skipper said that if the series is scheduled well, then the players will exhibit good quality cricket.

"If that happens, you see the best quality of players coming out and representing every game. When you play back-to-back games, you have to look after players and understand the workload. Honestly, from the outside world, people want to see all the best players playing and if those things are managed quite well, the quality of cricket will not be compromised," Rohit explained further.

Rohit-led India defeated England 2-1 in the T20I series. In the 50-over format, Team India started off with a 10-wicket victory in the opening game before suffering a defeat in the second ODI. The decisive third ODI is set to take place on Sunday (July 17) at Emirates Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester.