Former international cricketers, Aakash Chopra, AB de Villiers and Brett Lee shared some valuable insights on the difference between the longest format (Tests) and the shortest form of the game (T20s) and their impact on the sport so far.
Speaking at CNN-News18’s Rising Bharat Summit, AB de Villiers made an interesting comparison between both forms of the game. He believes that both need to find a way to coexist without threatening the other.
He said,” I feel cricket is like music and test cricket is like classical music. It almost becomes part of you. It’s an art and T20s is probably more like rock music. It’s more entertaining and exciting, but there’s room for all genres to exist within music.”
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The South African legend opined that with so many options for young cricketers to choose from, it is the responsibility of the administrators to make sure that they can make the big decisions and help the next generation of cricketers seamlessly decide their future in the sport.
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The commentator and pundit, Chopra reflected on the history of the shortest format and revealed that he used to be a critic of T20s and saw it as one that would eat into red-ball cricket. But now he seems to have changed his mind and sees the new financial incentive provided by the BCCI as the right step forward.
“Yes, it is under a bit of pressure, but the pressure is good. All cricketers will tell you that we need to thrive under pressure. But Test cricket has survived 150-odd years. So there must have been a few other existential crises that may have come up earlier, but it has survived. BCCI is doing its bit. They’ve added, actually 45 lakh rupees, up to 45 lakh rupees per game, in addition to the 15 lakh that you get”, said the former Indian international.
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For both formats to coexist, Lee thinks that the compensation structure should be the same across the board for both formats across nations. He said,” Bring different nations up to speed that aren’t getting paid as well as they would in a T20 format, whether it’s the IPL or whatever format it might be, that might encourage the young boys and girls, then they go back to play, I guess, more cricket. So maybe, it’s up to the boards to get more funding to look after players coming through”.
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