Cricket has come a long way and have seen so many ups and downs. Today I was watching the T20 game on Sunday evening and thought there are so many criticisms hovering around this shorter format of the game but then there are also lots of positives that have come out in this format. Cricket as one of the most popular game in the world and I guess after football it’s the next game that had second largest fan following. Especially in India where every kid at one point must have handed a bat or a ball to play cricket, be it in a gully or at cricket grounds. It’s the most popular game in India for sure and we see kids do consider seriously in making a career out of it. Initially it all started with a five day game and the first one known by all of us played between Australia and England. From there on it carried and more team joins in and before it was realized to have another format of the game that will decide on the result in just one day and will create a bit of excitement among people. This lead to the emergence of “One Day” cricket. Initially we had sixty overs to be bowled by each side and that time we had some great players like Bradman, Sobers, Dennis Lilley, Laker, etc which are still remembered as greats and no one came closer in terms of the quality they had with their play. Then the one day games cut short to fifty overs but by that time we already had three World Cups played in which two of them won by the mighty West Indies and the third finals was won by India in a thriller. I was just one year when India lifted the World Cup at Lords.
During those years of Test and One Day we had different other versions of the game (three days, four days) played by domestic teams. Cricket was losing its charm as there were days of domination Australia & England ruled the Test Cricket during the early days and West Indies were just too powerful to be beaten in one day game. But slowly other teams emerged but still people were more interested in watching few tournaments like the World Cup or ‘The Ashes’ series. There comes some great minds who thought that in this busy world where people now have no time to sit at the stadium to watch an entire day of cricket for five consecutive days during test or a single day for a One Day it was a requirement to even shorten the limited overs cricket in order to have more drama and twist & turns. Though I still feel the Test Cricket will remain the best cricket you will ever see. There you get the real talent and that actually matures any cricketer whoever wants to play this game with more commitment and passion. I don’t exactly remember who played the first T20 game and I don’t want to look into Google as that really doesn’t matter to me. But it really came into spot light with the T20 World cup played in 2007 and India under a new leader called the “long haired” Dhoni (called MS, Mahi by people)w won that competition. After that every series and any team that travelled included that format in their schedule. This not only increases the number of spectator coming and watching the game but it also adds a lot of excitement to it.
In test or one day you have a time to think and can make corrections to your mistakes but in T20 you hardly have a time. One good over here and there and you consider yourself on a losing side. Also these shorter versions played roughly in 200 mins are the time that could be bought from the people coming to watch. In India any good movie lasts atleast three hours so people now have a choice to either see a long romantic movie of SRK, or to watch an exciting game of T20 cricket.
Though this shorter version is criticized hugely because of many reasons the one being the invention of IPL (Indian Premier League) which is based in lines with the Football leagues played across different countries. IPL involves the formation of different club teams from India (based on states) and players from India (both from Ranji, International and under 19 years) and foreign players are included to form a team. This brings in a lot of money and players are bought by the franchise with huge amount which they will get just playing for a month. This format was designed for Indian players so as to get new talents which will represent India at the international level. Surely with this we got some very good players who have done well at the international level and also for other foreign players that have left a mark and got in their international teams. But one thing everyone forgot that a player playing in a T20 game hardly gains much experience to play quality shots and stay at the crease for longer time. Every over, every ball changes the face of the game and if you are batting you always have one thing in mind to score every ball, to hit every ball. If you are bowling you want to take wickets. This ideally doesn’t works out in a fifty over format and surely not in a longer version. Also now a day more T20 games are played sacrificing the test and this is leading to people move away the interest from the longer version. Previously we see career of a cricketer ten, fifteen years but now we hardly see any new comer playing tests for long time. Also a lot of T20 match means injury can happen quite often and that will lead cricketer out of action or not healthier enough to play One day or Test. We have seen so many players retiring from Test in order to continue their career for shorter version of the game, though we know the real reason of doing so.
Well I didn’t intend to say so much against this shorter version of the game but there is no point which I made wrong. But there are few things which are on the positive side which this version has given. When the format of IPL introduced we saw players from different countries sharing the same dressing room. This gave youngsters not only a chance to see their idols sitting in the same room but also having a chance of learning from them. Playing with such greats gave those young players a lot of confidence. Be it local Indian guy or foreigner, it’s such a wonderful sight to see players with a different mix, different backgrounds, styles, regions, culture in same team and bonding together. It has given a new dimension to this game and now everyone wants to see it live wherever the game is played. Apart from that it added two more important things. Previously cricket was known as gentlemen’s game but with this new format a bit of glamour is also attached. We see not only cricket but also entertainment along with cricket. Cheerleaders which we only see in a Rugby or American Football games are now an important part of this game. Celebrities coming to promote T20 and wanting to cash in with this newer version is also very common now a days. Also with this, a lot of cash is flown and that is benefitting the cricketers and though won’t be wise to say but they are given a fair price for their service and passion they showed for cricket. T20 now stands close to any other football leagues when it comes to money and the way cricketers are earning have boosted this game and the interest towards it.
I though personally like T20 as it saves time, give more excitement and get to see players scoring big runs (international teams or clubs). But still I am a fan of Test cricket and One Dayers and want that to continue along with T20. Though the governing body should put in some rules that will make sure to keep the importance of the longer versions (both Test & One Days) and encourage teams to play it along with T20. Test cricket is also going a revival with results coming out in almost every game and an indirect credit surely goes to T20. We as a cricket fans should love the game and keep away ourselves from the politics/controversies hovering around and also hope that the players first keep their country ahead of any other lucrative/physical/personal gains.
CRICKET ROCKS…