T20 (Twenty Twenty)

My usual prelog to any thoughts and then the thoughts...

Cricket - the game most watched in India, a bat and ball game with an objective to score maximum runs. The team with most runs wins. It is about runs. When I was a kid, I remember very well - a 5 day test match used to take 7 days because it included a two day rest in between. One day after first two days and another day of rest after next two days of play. In 1939, there was a longest test match between South Africa and England that lasted for 11 days (Ofcourse due to rain and the play that followed till the result). Each over used to be 10 balls, later it was reduced to 8 and then to 6. There were not many TV sets in India at that time. Times have changed, technology has improved, satellites were sent to receive live transmission from anywhere across the world and beam them over to India. Indian matches are scheduled to be played over the weekends to attract maximum crowd. Corporates started sponsoring matches and players. Money started to pour. Cricket boards become cash rich. Market potential is unveiled.

Now, how could the boards or TV channels or companies make more money? By making more people pay for it. But again how? By making more people watch it. So... shorten the play time. Give the audience the entertainment they want. A full game of cricket could be watched in the same time span that a family block buster takes. Watch it on any day weekday or a weekend. Watch it after your work hours. The highlights take just 15 minutes. You could watch them too, incase you missed the match.

And to make the game little bit more interesting than usual game they have re-written few rules. For example, a ball following no-ball is a free hit. Incase of a tie, winner is decided by the maximum number of times the bowlers hit the wickets. Hello...!! Is not the game of cricket about making more runs?

Epilogue
Anyway, the point is, this game has become an entertainer than a skill game. A player would not like this form of cricket. I would not like it so much to myself. And unfortunately due to the time constraints and the money, I am worried that this will be the only way cricket might be played in future and the next generation have to watch the same.