By Javagal Srinath
The London cricketing circles are agog with the new format of T20. The time was ripe for the ICC to have a fruitful 3 day conference for the Playing Control Team (also known as PCT) comprising Umpires and the Match referees, just ahead of the T20 World Cup. The basic idea of the conference was to tighten the rules and regulations and playing conditions and most importantly to bring about a common perspective in all the groups involved in running the tournament.
The host country, England, is well known to have many purists who always argued on the lines of tradition, upholding Test Cricket as the supreme form of the game. But this time around, one could witness a sea change in the same people who were quite intrigued with the success of T20 around the world.
I had an opportunity to meet all the Captains in one of the inaugural dinner. In the dinner speeches, captains were cautiously optimistic about their chance. It is quite true that this new T20 format has brought all the teams quite close to one another. Be it India, Bangladesh or New Zealand or Australia upsets and sudden death will be the real essence of this tournament.
Incumbent Indian team will have to do with the added pressure of retaining the cup. Indian team’s preparation and experience comes from the recently concluded IPL in South Africa. Batting being the strength, Dhoni and his men will have all the strategies in and around it.
Openers in Sewag and Ghambir will set the tone for the team. If either off them gets going, half the job is done for the Indian team. Yuvraj and Yusuf in the lower order and Raina and Dhon at the top, it is embarrassment of riches for the team.
IPl has thrown enough data points that spinners can play pivotal role in this format of the game.Dhoni will be tempted to play either Jadeja or Ojha along with Harbhajan Singh.
Ishant and Zaheer’ combination is click at the earliest. Zaheer fewer matches in last month could pose problems. Hope his vast experience comes in handy in these situations
By the virtue of being the cup winners, India has the advantage of trying a couple of slots in the league stage. By the time they reach the super eights, the balance must be found within the team.
The new trend emerging in this format of the game is that the individual brilliance is winning more matches than conventional team efforts.
HAWKEYE OMUNICATONS
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