Twenty20 Cricket- The Face Of Cricket In Future?

The BCCI has arguably changed the way that cricket is played of late. The establishment of the Indian Premier League is in some ways a reflection of the coffer strength of arguably one of the richest sporting bodies in the world. The sheer scale of the opening ceremony could easily rival an Olympic opener and most definitely would have come at a price that only the coffers of the BCCI can afford. Commercialization of cricket would very soon rival some of the best football leagues and it is only matter of time before we see players being bought and transferred by the various franchisees. Cricket in India is a much glorified sport and add to it the heady mix of Bollywood stars and you have a cocktail to get even the hardest drinker punchdrunk.

There have been several arguements about how Twenty20 cricket would affect the way cricket is perceived in future. There have been pros and cons for this recent development in cricket and many former cricketeers voice their concerns how this new format will take the life and essence out of cricket by relegating test match cricket to the backbenches. The biggest question facing administrators, players and of course the paying public is whether Twenty20 cricket will spell the doom of the longer versions of cricket.

Consider this for a fact. Only a handfull of countries play the game of cricket despite the ICC's best efforts to globalize the game. If the ICC's dream and goal is to take cricket to more nations then Twenty20 cricket would be the ideal platform. Who in the world would want to spend 5 days or even a full day watching the game in today's fast-paced life? Twenty20 cricket would offer the ideal evening out and even the most harrassed individual can afford to take out three hours in the evening to watch a match. A game of football, if it finishes in the stipulated time frame, can take 90 minutes and Twenty20 cricket takes approximately twice that time which still is reasonable for the spectator to sit and watch without fidgetting. Cricket survives because of the paying public and

Twenty20 cricket is the answer to the ICC's conundrum of globalizing the game.
Probably test cricket would eventually fade out and test cricket is the ultimate test of strength of character of a cricketeer and so on and so forth. However it remains a harsh reality that test cricket is not the answer that ICC can afford to look for in its aspirations and Twenty20 cricket is a blessing in disguise. As an ardent cricket fan myself I am sad to foresee the slow death of test cricket but that's the way life is. The old has to make way for the new albeit gracefully. The ICC can retain test matches and the standard 50-over one-day format only for the top 8-10 teams and all new members (the so-called minnows) and expectant members should only be playing Twenty20 cricket. This way the die-hard supporters can get their cake and eat it too!

Well, at the time of writing this, the Indian Premier League has seen three matches done and dusted with, some blitzkrieg knocks courtesy Brendon McCullum and Mr. Cricket Hussey (am sure he will be having a few giggles talking to his 'costlier' sibling over their price tags!) and the spectators being more and more convinced that Twenty20 cricket is here to stay. Kudos to the ICC and BCCI for their daring move.

http://indiant20cricket.blogspot.com

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