Kolkata: Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly is concerned about the England and Wales Cricket Board’s new plan of 100-ball cricket. Though before doing any further comment Ganguly wants to see how the tournament goes after getting a start.
“It’s actually 16 and half overs. So from 50 overs, it has come down to 20 and now to 16 and a half. Let’s see what happens. I think they are trying to make 100 a number instead of overs. We will have to wait and see how shorter it gets.
“You got to be very careful that it should not be such that before a spectator comes and blinks, the thing is over,” Ganguly said in Kolkata today.
“The spectator wants the fun and pressure to go on for a certain period of time and then find genuine talent and genuine winners,” he added.
Ganguly said the shorter the format gets, the gulf between the best and the ordinary reduces.
“The shorter the format gets, the difference between the very good and the ordinary becomes much lesser.”
The 45-year old put his weight behind test cricket, saying the real challenge is when you have to bowl with the same intensity even in the last session of a day.
“That’s why test cricket is the biggest challenge in cricket still. It tests you as you have to come and bowl in the morning and then in the afternoon and then at tea time when you’re tired fielding all day, you still have to bowl at 140kps and that’s when it’s tough.
“It requires concentration, skill, technique. T20 will remain, it’s commercial and fun but the real version will be the longer format of the game.”
The 100-ball cricket tournament was proposed last month to attract young fellows but till now it has get mixed reaction from players and fans.
England director of cricket Andrew Strauss has said the 100-ball proposal, which the ECB wants to introduce from 2020, is aimed at “mums and kids in the summer holidays”.