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Twenty20 cricket setting a different trend

Teenagers will suffer if they do not perfect the basics, writes Makarand Waingankar

— Photo: AFP

Arjuna Ranatunga.

Former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga was known for his shrewd captaincy. He played mindgames against the Australians much before Sourav Ganguly.

Before the T20 first game at Bangalore Ranatunga made a pertinent point by saying that “like we in the sub-continent had made haste in taking up European fast and power-packed hockey, we are now being too enthusiastic about promoting T20 which will test our strength and endurance rather than skills”.

T20 is a game which is played with tremendous speed that doesn’t let you think for a moment whether what you are doing will get you close to the goal you have set. Over a period, this game will set a trend of some burly figures with specially designed bats hitting the ball more out of the ground than playing delectable shots.

The reason, Ranatunga felt, batsmen from the sub-continent are strong against the quality spinners is that ours are wristy players and spinners always find it difficult to bowl to such batsmen. But with the advent of the T20 power game, the trend will shift to hitting hard, relying on strength with minimum use of the wrists. Gym work too will change.

There is a school of thought which feels that unless we have a set of players who can specialise in the 50 and 20 overs games, players from the sub-continent will never be able to play a five-day Test match.

The argument is that a Test match is of skills over a duration of five days and 450 overs.

The qualities required to win a Test are quite different from what is required to play the T20 game. Cricketers of international experience can adapt to any form of the game, but it’s the teenagers who are taught the correct technique and the right approach in the academies who will suffer a lot.

Causing problem

On a placid pitch at Hyderabad when the Mumbai under-19 team, asked to chase 70 runs in the entire day, was bundled out for a paltry 51, the Mumbaikars known for batting admitted it’s the 50 and 20 overs matches which were causing problems.

Teenagers, who are at the moment enjoying the money and the fame in T20, are the ones expected to play for the country in the longer versions of the game, and that’s the biggest worry.

Defence will go out of the game. Spinners at a young age will not learn the art of flight as they will not get picked for the T20. Medium-pacers may gain in trying out varieties more often than they would in other forms of the game. Fielding will improve. No longer will a skilled batsman or bowler’s poor fielding be accepted.

It’s going to be a challenge for the NCA which will have to advise the technical committee to restrict the number of the T20 players. If there has been no limited overs cricket for the under-17 for past eight years, why should we have T20 for under-20?

Let the players perfect the basics of the game. T20 is entertainment. The real skill is Test cricket. Players know it. It’s the organisers who need to understand it.

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