Rule tweaks behind ballooning ODI scores: Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar takes nothing away from the current crop of batsmen but the Indian great believes a slew of rule changes have led to ballooning scores in one-day cricket. India will become the first team to play 1000 one-day internationals when they host West Indies in Sunday's series opener in Ahmedabad. Tendulkar has featured in 463 of them and his tally of 18,426 runs remains an unmatched benchmark even a decade after he played the last of his ODIs.

"I wouldn't take away any credit from batters, but rules and conditions have changed," the 48-year-old told Reuters in a telephone interview on Friday. "Batters' strike rates are way higher than it used to be in the 1990s, and bowlers' economy rates are also higher... average runs scored in 50 overs today is way more than it was in the 1990s.

"Two new balls, field restrictions and change in match timings -- these elements have changed the game over the years." Bowling with two new balls has effectively killed reverse swing in one-day cricket, according to Tendulkar, whose 49 ODI centuries remains a record. "I haven't seen much of reverse swing. Maybe it reverses a little bit 46th over onwards, because the ball is actually 23-overs old.

"With one new ball, it would begin reversing from the 24th over and you bowl another 26 overs with that." The current crop of batsmen have also been spared the trouble of facing a discoloured ball, the former India captain said. "When the ball gets discoloured, you don't see it spinning in the air. That's when an off-spinner's doosra or a leg-spinner's googly becomes more effective.