The T20 format is the best of the evolution the game of Cricket and the fans have witnessed. Beyond men’s cricket, Women’s cricket is very competitive and the opportunities are in plenty and growing day by day. The focus of cricket is moving towards the largest continent USA supported by leading Ex English cricketers. It is very intriguing to see the development of the cricket in the USA and the opportunities that it would bring to the Cricketing world. Is this a growth aiming at development of Cricket?
The fan base of T20 cricket is immense with popularity of franchise cricket all around the world. Fans spend money on expensive tickets , merchandise and spend lot of time and energy to root their team to glory. At the end of the day, fans will be happy to witness a competitive cricket and it is a bonus if their team win on a given day. What is the future of competitive T20 cricket in the Cricket’s commercial world?
It will be good for the franchise cricket to come up with lower division leagues developing an organic path to play the highly coveted top level franchise leagues. This requires a huge investment and the returns will certainly be long term based. This route of development will affirm a good future for promoting and developing the game. The team owners must take the responsibility in the development of the Cricket as directed by the Cricket associations.
The franchise league is very attractive and intensive all throughout except for the finals. How can a league tournament end with a sudden single match final? It is neither a league nor a knock out tournament. If the Cricket associations are interested in developing the game, the format of tournament must also consider the elements of nourishing the game both from cricket development and fan’s expectations.
Like the NBA, the finals must be best or threes or fives to decide a winner. In addition, the teams that play the”Best of n” final must make a compulsory two changes every match rather than sticking to the same team. In my view, there are plenty of talent so players should sign up a T20 league rather than associations cram a tourney considering global cricket schedule to secure the players.
These are my views as a fan of Cricket and its future.
The future of T20s is in the hands of cricket associations to ensure it is well protected, nourished and to keep it exciting for the fans in a natural way. If not, the future of “Exciting Cricket” may fade way overshadowed by the existing commercial model.
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