The Era of T20

  Twenty-Twenty (20-20) is the shortest but most interesting form of cricket for all ages. It is a modern day cricket game grown on the lines of the other sports, especially football. Although not held true by the orthodox cricket fans, T20, as it is called, is the most entertaining form of cricket. Cricket, for over two centuries was played only by a handful of teams over the world. There was a need for the game to increase its popularity and hence the T20 evolved. The interest of the people for the game was fading with long 40 hours matches which many a times ended without result. Then here came T20, giving you the result in three hours! Naturally it attracted more people. Now, in the 21^st century, twenty nations have played T20 internationals! This form is here to stay for sure.

  Although the first T20 international was played ten years ago the format evolved in England much earlier. The first official T20 match was played on 13^th June 2003 between English counties in Twenty20 Cup. The tournament was a relative success and it attracted a large number of crowds in England. The popularity of the game was so high that it quickly spread all over the world. Australia, Pakistan and West Indies started their own domestic T20 leagues.

  The T20 cricket was not liked by everyone. The traditional cricket lovers felt that the T20 was a threat to the Test and ODI format because of people giving more importance to the former. Also the T20 is a batsman dominated game with bowlers playing very little part. The raining boundaries attracted huge crowds. Players adopted unorthodox style of playing which was required for the format. There developed a new set of players known as ‘T20 Specialist’. These were not the ordinary cricketers but were millionaires who just played T20 cricket all round the year. This affected the other two formats of the game with youngsters opting to play the third format which was new and financially attractive.

  But it did not abstain the investors from T20. It gained immense popularity in the leading cricketing nations with the franchise based T20 leagues taking a new turn. The leagues such as Stanford 20/20 tournament, Indian Premier League, Big Bash League gave a new platform to the players to showcase their talents. A potential player could earn millions in a span two months. The International Cricket Body (ICC) also supported it by introducing WorldT20 in 2007 which was an excellent experiment to popularize the format. It is held successively every two years now. At present every test playing nation has their own T20 leagues which are again a platform for local players to showcase their talent.

  T20 is more of a glamorized format of cricket. Many celebrities cheer the game or have their stakes in the T20 leagues. This has popularized game among the non cricket fans as well. Also it welcomes lots of money into the game. But there is a debate on whether it is popularizing cricket or killing it. Many young learners of the game have T20 players as their idols rather than pure test cricketers. It is surely unhealthy for the game in long term.

  Anyways the format of the game doesn’t matter as long as it is played in true spirit. The ongoing WorldT20 in India is another milestone in the short history of T20. Let’s hope it will increase the popularity of the game in the lesser known countries of the world.