Has T20 Cricket Saved the Game’s Future?

By Raj Natarajan

It may not be an overstatement if I say that T20 cricket, the fast and furious format of the game, has breathed new life to ensure game’s future. Many of the purists may disagree with me and argue that T20 has ruined the growth of Test Cricket and the ODIs. Twenty20 (T20) was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. It was introduced to create a fast-paced game that would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television. It was intended to deliver fast-paced, exciting cricket accessible to thousands of fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game.

When Australian television tycoon Kerry packer introduced 50 overs limited cricket in 1971 the game was changed forever and it came to be known as One-Day cricket (ODI). Coloured clothing and white ball made their appearance and that, cricket followers thought, was a game changer.  It took only 4 years for International Cricket Council (ICC) to organise the first ODI World Cup in England in 1975 and was officially known as the Prudential Cup after the sponsors Prudential plc.

When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB needed another one-day competition to fill its place and Cricketing authorities were looking to boost the game’s popularity with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. The first official Twenty20 matches were played on 13 June 2003 between the English counties in the Twenty20 Cup. The first season of Twenty20 in England was a relative success, with the Surrey Lions defeating the Warwickshire Bears by nine wickets in the final to claim the title. The first Twenty20 match held at Lord’s, on 15 July 2004 between Middlesex and Surrey, attracted a crowd of 27,509, the highest attendance for any county cricket game at the ground other than a one-day final since 1953.

In 2007 ICC T20 World Cup was organised in South Africa and India won this inaugural competition beating Pakistan in final. The Board of Control for Cricket in India started the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, which is now the largest cricket league, which utilizes the North American sports franchise system with ten teams in major Indian cities. In September 2017, the broadcasting and digital rights for the next five years (2018–2022) of the IPL were sold to Star India for US$2.55 billion, making it one of the world’s most lucrative sports competition. The IPL has seen a spike in its brand valuation to US$5.3 billion after the 10th edition.

Every two years an ICC Twenty20 World Cup tournament is to take place, except in the event of an ICC Cricket ODI World Cup being scheduled in the same year, in which case it will be held the year before. In December 2007 it was decided to hold a qualifying tournament with a 20-over format to better prepare the teams. With six participants, two would qualify for the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. The 2012 ICC Twenty20 World Cup was won by the West Indies, by defeating Sri Lanka at the finals. It was the first time in cricket history when a T20 World Cup tournament took place in an Asian country. In July 2020, the ICC announced that both the 2020 and 2021 editions had been postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result T20 World Cup competition was shifted from India to UAE in 2021 and now, in 2022 Australia is hosting the T20 World Cup.

T20 has not only brought unimaginable financial success to the cricket authorities around the World but also made elite Cricketers some of the highest paid sports people in the World today. This kind of financial success has been possible mainly because of the popularity of the game, particularly among young people who now see a career in cricket. It was only 15 years back that test cricketers needed a day-job to make both ends meet.

Thus Twenty20 cricket has not only changed the financial well being of the game and players who play the game but also has resulted in “raising the bar” in terms of fitness levels for all players, demanding higher levels of strength, speed, agility and reaction time from all players regardless of role in the team. T20 cricket has lead to players learning new skills in batting, bowling and fielding which were never seen before in cricket like the reverse sweep, scoop over wicket keeper’s head, slow bouncers and acrobatic catches near the boundary line to give a few examples. T20 cricket has thus promoted innovation and the game has become so much more exciting to watch.

Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist pushed for Twenty20 to be made an Olympic sport and said that it would be difficult to see a better, quicker or cheaper way of spreading the game throughout the world. Several experts and commentators have noted that the T20 format has been embraced by many Associate members of the ICC partly because it is more financially viable to play. When the World is moving at a fast pace and when finding time to watch any sports is becoming more and more difficult, a five day Test cricket is becoming  less popular and consequently financially less attractive to the cricket organizing bodies around the World. It is because of T20 cricket, the game is spreading around the World faster than any time before and many countries which are not traditionally cricket playing countries are now embracing T20 cricket.

The only way the longer formats of the game can survive into the future is by channelling the revenue generated by T20 cricket to sustain Test cricket. The question is what is the future of One Day Internationals (ODIs)? With the ever increasing popularity of T20 cricket, I cannot see ODIs surviving long into the future and we may be left with only two formats of cricket, T20 and Test cricket.

Therefore T20 is not only here to stay but also will become the saviour of the game by making it financial viable. T20 cricket is thus ensuring that cricket’s popularity is fast spreading because of its fast pace, short duration and entertainment value. While purists enjoy watching Test cricket, let the non-purist cricket fans enjoy the fast and furious T20 cricket.