Former Test batsmen Sandeep Patil and Chandu Borde prefer to wait and see how the radical changes to the one-day game, proposed by a sub-committee of the International Cricket Council, work out on the field of play before reacting to the proposals.
"I would prefer to reserve my comments about the radical changes till I see them actually taking place in a match. But there's no harm in trying out a few experiments. It's better to try out and discard them than not to try them at all," said Patil.
The ICC's Cricket Committee -- headed by India's Sunil Gavaskar -- met in Dubai earlier this week and recommended that restrictions should apply for the first 10 overs of every innings, with two additional blocks of five overs to be applied through the course of an innings at the discretion of the fielding captain.
The committee was of the view that these blocks of five overs could be used consecutively or randomly at the discretion of the fielding captain.
It also recommended the introduction of soccer-style substitutes for international cricket wherein a player could be replaced at any stage of a match but would then be ruled out for the remainder of the match.
Patil, who guided minnows Kenya to the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa as the African team's coach and is currently coaching Oman, said there have been so many changes over the years in the game.
"If there are suggestions to make the game more challenging they are worth trying. One can always go back (if they don't work out well). But it's very difficult to predict how they will work out without actually seeing them happen," the former India coach said.
Speaking from Pune, former middle order batsman Borde echoed Patil's views that it would be very difficult to visualise how the proposed changes would work on the field.
"A winning game can be lost and a losing game can be won by the introduction of these changes. But I would prefer to see them actually being implemented on the field before passing comments whether they are good or bad," the former middle order batting mainstay said.
"It will be quite exciting and people will be kept guessing till the end. It will be even more unpredictable. The substitutes can change the complexion of the game," he said.
Explaining the changes, Sunil Gavaskar had said in Dubai that they would enliven the one-day game.
"I think change to the way the fielding restrictions work will enliven the game and introduce a new element of unpredictability throughout the course of an innings," Gavaskar had said after the ICC Cricket Committee's sitting.
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar welcomed the changes in the one-day game.
"I welcome these suggestions which were on the cards as discussions were on for the last few years on how to make the game more interesting. In the current format, the middle overs are a bit predictable and monotonous," Vengsarkar said.
"At present, the rival captains know which bowler is expected to be introduced at what stage of the game and it's all quite boring. The game is loaded in favour of the batsmen," he said.
"But with the introduction of the new substitute rule that has been proposed that a 12th man can also bowl would bring in an element of uncertainty," said the former middle order batsman.
"These are excellent suggestions to the ICC by the committee headed by Sunil Gavaskar, who is an excellent policy maker," Vengsarkar added.
The ICC's Chief Executives Committee will discuss the proposals at its meeting in London on June 24 and 25.
