“We are all entertainers,” said Marvan Atapattu as he justified the overwhelming emergence of Twenty20 as the most favourite format of cricket.
...says former New Zealand all-rounder Craig McMillan as he extols the spirit of the game
CHANDIGARH: “We are all entertainers,” said Marvan Atapattu as he justified the overwhelming emergence of Twenty20 as the most favourite format of cricket.
The stars from yesteryears, who are the first amongst their lot to have played the format extensively, were unanimous that T20 was the future of cricket. “It’s about targeting the crowd.
Cricket aficionados around the world are dwindling away from Test and One-Day cricket. T20 has taken over a little bit. It gets over in three-and-a-half hours,” said another veteran, Nathan Astle.
The feeling that the format is not conducive to improving technique was somewhat nullified as Craig McMillan said: “It’s not just about belting the ball. It is about good cricket.”
The former New Zealand all-rounder felt the impact of the game would be profound as “It would speed the game up and batsmen will play an array of innovative shots rupturing its earlier format.”
For Stuart Law, the greatest revelation in the tournament has been the calibre of the Indian players who are young and raring to play attacking cricket.
“We often felt that the international players will have to sit out given the commitment the domestic lads showed in the practise matches,” Law said.
McMillan lauded the talent in the Indian youngsters and felt the tournament has been a good platform to handpick the best players for the national team.
“I am fascinated by their fielding standards and that addresses one grey area of Indian cricket. India can now boast of superior fielding standards like any other team in the world,” he added.
Addressing the concern that the players will not be able to avail of any BCCI-affiliated facilities, McMillan said:
“The ICL will organise local tournaments with Indian players. Of course, the foreign players will come back in March. But there will be a domestic tournament. It is beneficial as these guys have learnt a lot from players like Nathan (Astle), Marvan (Atapattu) and Staurt (Law).”
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