Twenty 20 - Boon or Bane?

"Cricket is my religion, Sachin is my God!"
"Hu Ha India, aaya India!"
These are few of the many mantras chanted by the cricket enamoured people of India. It is fascinating to see how a billion hearts beat for eleven men on the field in this diverse nation. Incidents like declaration of a holiday in the event of an important cricket match, citizens queueing up to get a glimpse of a live match outside an electronics store and cricketers being compared to demi-gods come as no surprise. The T20 world cup triumph has only served as an impetus to intensify the feelings of the fans. The aftermath of the world cup has been given in my previous post(Blasphemous Barons...).
We now need to ponder about the future of this form of cricket. Will it help in elevating cricket to the level of highly popular games like football? How is T20 going to affect the other versions of the game?
Let me start with the latter question. In a recent poll conducted by NDTV, it was found that about 42% of youth in India found the 50 over format a drag in comparison to T20. Is the fact that India won the cup helping in the longer versions of the game's downfall? In this 'fast food' world, people find no time to waste on long ODI games and even longer test matches. T20 provides excellent entertainment for these classes of people. The big hitting, smaller boundary ropes, cool jigs at the end of each boundary, quicker wickets and lightning fast outfields add to the excitement. But as the ever bubbly Navjot Singh Sidhu said, "T20 is like a chocolate, you can have it when u feel like having one. You cannot eat chocolate for breakfast,lunch and dinner!" Very, very well said! Nothing can replace the frenzy of an ODI or the class of a test match. In my opinion, a true cricketer is discovered only in test matches. The essentials of a complete batsman- Flair, class, tenacity, style and flawless timing, and that of a consummate bowler- cleverness, pace, aggression and deception are only seen in the longer versions.
T20 can in no way be a comparison to games like football and rugby. Football has always been a source of great entertainment to the whole world. T20, though entertaining, can really get on one's nerves. Too much of bludgeoning of the poor cricket ball can also serve to irritate the viewer. We need to realise that even this hullabaloo and ado about T20 would certainly fade in the days to come.
The baby has only been born, we shall start talking, when it starts walking!!!
Until next time, Amigos!