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Twenty20 impact felt in more than the way cricket is being played
The frenetic phase of T20 cricket, symbolised by its glamorous avatar, the Indian Premier League, is finally over. With this latest round, which also showcased the
The frenetic phase of T20 cricket, symbolised by its glamorous avatar, the Indian Premier League, is finally over. With this latest round, which also showcased the World Twenty20, what is in store for Tests and one-dayers is becoming harder to predict.
The Indian Board, quick in its response these days to impending changes, has announced proposals that are in sync with what the cricket world believes would be the future of Tests. Pink balls and day-night cricket could become a reality from the next season onwards in the Duleep Trophy, but whether it would enhance the competition and draw crowds has to be seen.
The Indian board announced it wants its next Test series against New Zealand to include a day-night game. Australia and New Zealand have already played a Test under lights, and the experiment generated a lot of interest. How much the favourable bowling conditions had to do with the pink ball and floodlights and how much impact the wicket made can only be assessed when more such matches are played.
Suffice to say the world is gearing up for radical changes in how Test cricket is going to be played. Whether these changes work or not, and in what form the longer format survives, nobody is sure.
TEST OVERHAUL
The T20 impact is already being seen in Tests, which are rarely going the distance with patience in building an innings and playing the waiting game no longer considered a virtue.
There is one more area where the T20 leagues are having their impact, especially in India, and that is in the availability of coaches for the national team.
India announced Sanjay Bangar as its head coach for the Zimbabwe tour. Bangar, whose solid innings in the Headingly Test in 2002 played a significant role in India’s famous victory, is a stop-gap appointment before India finds the man for the job.
The problem in finding the person lies, and that is a surprise, in not many former players who qualify for the job being interested. The reason is that T20 leagues across the world, and especially the IPL, offer reasonably good money without the long-term commitment needed for becoming a national coach.
Coaches have families to look after and find it hard to attach themselves to a team that hardly gives them time to spend at home. That is probably why India has so far not been able to find a replacement for Ravi Shastri and is now going through the route of advertisement. Given Shastri’s record and interest in the job, he too would be an applicant, but the point is that T20 is impacting the game in more than just the way it is being played.
