Twenty20 can pose threat in the coming days

Back in 2003 – The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) introduced a format at the County level where each team will have 20 overs with a period of two and a half hours for each innings and a break time of 10 minutes after the end of first innings.

When the Benson and Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB sought another one-day competition to fill with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship.

The Board wanted to deliver fast-paced, exciting cricket accessible to fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game.

Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of the ECB, proposed a 20-over-per-innings game, invented by New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe, to county chairmen in 2001, and they voted 11–7 in favour of adopting the new format.

One year later, the format was launched on June 13 in a carnival atmosphere. It was an instant success.

I enjoyed watching it on Television because of the entertainment factor.

When it became a part of the international calendar, I did not bother at all as the world is changing and people need to think differently. Then came the Twenty20 Leagues which added a new pace to cricket and, yet again, I supported that.

But gradually, I discovered that the game of cricket is suffering.

I started realizing that a batsman and a bowler can’t be judged through 20 overs of entertainment as the 5-day format is the real place to judge a cricketer.

These days, I notice young guns boast about scoring a quick-fire 30 off 20 balls rather than emphasizing the technical and temperamental aspects of the game. They are not interested in featuring in a first-class team, rather, their target remains to be featured in a Twenty League team – especially – those from the Indian Premier League (IPL).

A strongly built youngster does not wish to bowl fast – rather – he is happy to contain a batsman without developing variations while the same goes for a young spinner.

If the target of the young generation remains such - they will start developing as a Twenty20 cricketer. For which they will not dare to sacrifice their national duties let alone featuring in the Test format and, I, deeply fear the future of the 50-over format.

Today, I have given up following the Twenty20 Leagues – but tend to follow International Twent20. Somehow, a voice inside me consistently tells me, this is not cricket at all and the fabric of this wonderful game may be destroyed by the powerful groups involved in this game.

The way the Twenty20 format and the Leagues are spreading – I worry about the future of cricket. I worry about a disaster where cricket may lose its appeal.

Overdose of anything is never good and no empire can be built at the sacrifice of the soul and for cricket Test cricket is its soul. Legends are made in this format and the shorter format can only create mediocre products.

Twenty20 format may transform into a demon and pose a threat to the soul of this game.

Twenty20 format is not cricket.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar