Twenty20 has rendered one-day cricket irrelevant and the 50-over format should be done away with, according to spin great Shane Warne.
"I'll say it again, one-day cricket should go. It has evolved into Twenty20," said the Australian legend, asserting the game would be better off with just two formats.
"Cricket only needs two forms of the game. Something needs to be done about scheduling: it's been going on for too long," Warne wrote in his column for Herald Sun.
The leg-spinner, who led Rajasthan Royals to a fairytale triumph in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, remains a staunch supporter of the Twenty20 format and believes one-dayers simply has no business in the international calendar.
Warne was equally critical of Australia's post-Ashes schedule which pits them against the same English side for a seven-match ODI series and termed it as ridiculous and a joke.
"Unfortunately, Australia now plays a series of ridiculous limited-overs matches against England, and then more one-dayers in South Africa and India, before the next Test in Brisbane in November.
"It is a joke that any international team has to play seven ODIs after a five-Test series against the same team," Warne said.
"There are only nine Tests between now and the next Ashes series in Australia at the end of next year, but a ludicrous number of one-day cricket in the same period," he added.
Dwelling on Ashes, Warne said it hurt him to see the side lose the urn.
"It hurts. It hurts a bloody lot losing the Ashes. I really felt for Ricky Ponting and the Australian team after seeing Andrew Strauss lift the little urn at The Oval.
"It took me back to Michael Vaughan doing the same in 2005, and how it felt to lose the Ashes for the first time in my career. I understand how all the Australian players must have felt," Warne said.
How long is the transition period?
Frustrated to see his team lose the Ashes series against arch-rivals England, Spin legend Shane Warne has questioned how long will it take for Australia to get over the transition period.
"The vultures are circling and looking for answers, but to me it's pointless and destructive to sling criticism about why we lost the Ashes," Warne wrote.
"It is more constructive for those in charge to work out how to move forward. Many members of this team were playing in their first Ashes series, but there comes a time when the transition period is over. How long is that period?"
"This team has been together for 12 months and has played excellent cricket; at other times ordinary cricket. People must realise this team will be inconsistent, which is frustrating," he added.
Warne felt Australia lost against a weaker English side and so there needs to be some introspection.
