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Is Sobers tempted to play Twenty20?
West Indian legend is enthusiastic about the instant version. Check out what he has to say. 20-20 better than 50-50?
West Indian cricketing legend Sir Garfield Sobers has showed a lot of enthusiasm for the instant version of cricket -- Twenty20 cricket.
On whether he is tempted to try his hand at Twenty20 cricket, Sobers said, "I passed that day about 20 years ago".
But he is really interested about the new competition.
"Although Twenty20 is not a lot of overs, you can still see some of the up-and-coming youngsters, particularly as far as bowling is concerned," he told BBC Sport.
"If you can do it in those four overs, when you come to play at the 50-over level, you have (learnt) to concentrate in the same way and restrict players," Sobers said.
Sobers, considered the best all-rounder ever, is working as an ambassador for Texan billionaire Allen Stanford's Twenty20 tournament. The new tournament, sponsored by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford, is attracting global interest because of its huge prize money. The winner of the knockout tournament, which includes teams from the smaller islands as well as teams Jamaica and Guyana, will win $ 1 million.
The man of the match of each game will win $ 25,000.
Stanford 20-20 has brought excitement to Caribbean cricket. "He felt it was time for somebody to bring a game to the Caribbean which gives the players an opportunity to play for a fairly good sum of money," Sobers said.
"Who knows where this could go?" All we know at present is that it's very entertaining; a lot of people are talking about it all over the Caribbean. People who didn't have any interest in it are now big fans."
The 70-year old Sobers expressed confidence that Twenty20 could offer a lot in future. "I'm sure that a lot is going to be extracted from this Twenty20 for the future."
