VidYouth

How long has it been since you’ve heard people talk about an ‘entertaining’ test match or about how they thoroughly enjoyed a One Day International?… Have we reached a point where a 5 day match or even a 1 day match for instance, cannot satisfy our cricketing needs?… we could optimistically call it the renaissance in the hugely loved sport.

The shortest version of the game, T-20 has arrived and is here to stay. Very well packaged with revised rules which quickens the pace of the game and interesting fielding restriction patterns in the form of powerplays have brought along thrill, excitement and cliff hanger situations to the game of cricket. With the added incentive of a fat pay and gorgeous cheer leaders dancing away with the flow of the game, T-20 has proved its point. As Entertainment has successfully seeped in and made its way into the world of this sport, T-20 has by far been the best medium to bring them together. More and more crowds are flocking to the shortest version of the game and ODIs seem to be losing its fizz. Ankur an ardent cricket buff says, “Well, cricket today is entertainment. And entertainment shouldn’t exceed a time limit of more than 3-4 hours… With a T-20 match, you get to catch hold of a drink, a can of popcorn and sit with friends and enjoy the fast paced action. Now, that is what I call enjoying the game. It saves your time and sometimes gives you something which even a Bollywood movie cant.”

ODI @ Uppal Stadium. Credits: Inverted Frequency

While a lot of fans are shifting their loyalties to this format of the game, the veterans of the game truly believe that T-20 can be fatal for the 50 over matches. The likes of Shane Warne and many others have voiced their concern about how T-20 can lead to complete eradication of ODIs and can even jeopardize the position of  Test Cricket. Bharat, another fan of the sport, says, “I know how exciting T-20 can get but the true essence of the game still rests in the longest version of it, which is, Test Cricket. The fact that teams have to be both physically and mentally strong is very challenging. Its about tactics and nerve. I find that very engaging. T-20 surely looks like a potential threat to ODIs but I don’t think it can displace Tests.”

With the introduction of new interesting versions of  T-20 cricket in the form of Indian Premier League and the Champions League, the fan base has been increasing by the minute. Rahul says, “I think a cash rich cricket board like BCCI couldn’t have done better to get even richer. They hit the sweet spot by cashing in on that format of the game which was soon beginning to become a rage. They( BCCI ) can claim themsevles responsible for Indian Premier League to have become such a craze in a cricket crazy country like ours.” While this event and T-20 as a whole opened the door of opportunity for millions of aspiring cricketers belonging to our huge country, it also raised the credibility of this process as the mind set of the aspiring youngsters will no more be to make it to the test team. Prakash says, “I truly believe it gives chance to thousands of youngsters out there but will they ever want to make it to the test team?… If  T-20 is their gate pass to make it to the ODI team, then would they just ignore the fact that playing in white kits for the country has, for as long as the game has existed, been the dream of every newcomer. I would be disappointed if youngsters miss out on lessons they can learn from the likes of Dravid and Laxman in their quest to play like Yuvraj or Raina.”

Test Cricket At Its Best! Credits: Inverted Frequency

With T-20 taking away the prime time slot of  TV viewing, women, who are particularly not big fans of the sport, are forced to watch. Give them a choice of watching a T-20 or an ODI, and the resulting answers are very interesting and often surprising. Mrs. Vijayalakshmi says, “If I’m given a choice between a T-20 match and an ODI, I’ll go for an ODI only because I believe than T-20 is pure luck and the real test of character is present only in a 50 over match. Whether it is India V/s Pakistan or India V/s Australia or any other team for that matter, I would always prefer to watch an ODI because it is not about blind hitting.” Keerthi, on the other hand, says, “I love both the forms. I believe that I can watch cricket all day on a holiday, so I’d prefer an ODI on that day. And when I’m in a hurry or busy with something, a quick T-20 would do a world of good.” Trishnanta says, “I’ll watch a T-20 if  I’m given this choice. It promises more action, more drama, twists and turns of a bollywood potboiler. In short, it has everything… I’d surely go with a T-20 match.”

With the introduction of the T-20 format, the other two forms surely seem to have been displaced a little. Has a confirmed change in the patterns of this sport truly come about? How good or bad will this change be?These questions will continue to be unanswered and brought about in every debate that will ever exist. While tests continue to offer what you can call rivalry and hence the urge to play high quality cricket and ODIs still managing to hold its ground, if not as convincingly as it has done in the past, the craze for T-20 is spreading like wild fire.To save the longer versions of the game, champions of the game are suggesting structural changes in the format of tests by making it 4-day games and also changing ODIs into 25 overs double innings games to appeal to the crowd. These could be the possible amendments which can  be introduced to save the fate of the longer version of the game. For now, the game sure has come a long way from 1877, when it was first played and only time will tell this renaissance has benefited both the players and the lovers of the game.