It had to start somewhere and it starts here at Indias’ 2011 tour of England. No one saw the perils of the 20-20 format of cricket BUT Indian cricket is going to be a big victim of this entertainment form of cricket. No one will admit and no one will do anything to restore the situation – because there is a lot of money involved. And when it is money and India; it is a dangerous combination.
Test cricket is boring, it needs discipline, hard work, patience, concentration, skills, mettle and mental toughness. 20-20 is the exactly opposite, it appeals more to the hot blood of the youth. Why bother staying on the pitch for 2 days, score a painstaking century when you can hit 20 runs in 7 balls, with the crowd cheering in the backdrop of high pitch music and cheerleaders dancing by the boundary line. The choice for today’s emerging cricketers is simple. Get into 20-20 rather then yearning for a test spot. Above all 20-20 offers a lot more money for the entertainment value.
Against the backdrop of the picture I have painted Indian cricket is going to emerge a big looser. And it all starts here with loosing the #1 ranking in test cricket. So where do we go from here? Further more down the ranking ladder in the near future. Other big disadvantage for Indian cricket is going to be – loosing the dominance on home soil. With international cricketers being offered chance to participate in 20-20, sooner rather than later these guys are going to be acclimatized with the Indian pitch conditions and unlocking the prowess of Indias spin bowlers. The coming years will see India loose a number of home tournaments.
Many of you may not agree, but there is proof. The English premier league is football is the best and most exciting league in the world. It offers high quality football and immense opportunities to talent all over the world. But look where it has landed English football. England can only dream of winning a football world cup. Thankfully for Indian cricket the 20-20 mania did not destroy our cricket before registering a World cup win. If we don’t do anything to fix the 20-20 bubble, which we probably wont, India will not register a cricket world cup win for decades to come.
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