There was a time when only Test Cricket was played. There was no limitation on the game as we the record for the longest match being played for even 12 days. That seems bizarre today but then the game used to be played for entertainment along with competition. Here in this article, we have talked about Fast Fashion in Cricket.
Today we have shifted to different modes of cricket. We have Twenty over, Ten over, and even a hundred where the concept and rules are different altogether. In this article, we will not learn about the history of the game, but try to find out what happens when it runs as Hotwheels.
Starting in 2003, the England Cricket Board started the journey of the popular shortest format of cricket. After a few trials, the biggest tournament of the game was organized and it was won by India. The country being the enthusiastic cricket follower as it is, it was hard to let go of the hangover. T20 became a very popular format after the commencement of the Indian Premier League which was highly influenced by franchisee leagues in football and the NBA. The league had all the glamour that couldn’t keep either cricketers or the audience away from it.
We are now 15 years ahead of that time and things have changed completely. From not knowing what T20 cricket was and being uncomfortable with the short format, we are in the age where kids might only know about that format. The format brings with it a lot of things, but one of the most important reasons has been its fast pace. The game finishes in 3 hours and you get to feel all the emotions in a highlighted format. A movie show on cricket.
The perks of it are immense but if we were to look at the players coming in to play the league, we still might not be able to trust them the way we trusted the OGs. We knew Sachin, Virat, and Dravid had played a good number of games in domestic cricket and competed amongst the best in the country and would not wobble if they were to face the most lethal bowlers of the world. Could we say it about Hardik, Prithwi Shaw, or younger players who emerged just through a faster format of the cricket? They are the future of this game and this is not to abase the relevance of these prolific players. The impact has been on all over the world. We do not have as many bowlers who bowl consistently at 150+ and there the game has inclined towards favoring batters, and it is the impact of the fast fashion in cricket.
The legend Michael Holding when was asked in an interview about what he thinks about the IPL, he just denied watching it. He also emphasized on on the format was killing the longevity of fast bowlers because they are prone to injury owing to very busy schedules. There are so many matches all at once that players don’t take enough breaks. The popularity has also attracted many people seeking it as a career who get chances to show their skills on the big screen. One innings at right time can get you spotted and can change your life. One injury can pull you back and keep you from growing because there are others to replace you.
There is a certain level of comfort but also uneasiness that comes with this Fast Fashion in Cricket. The players, who may or may not have enough skills to be representing the country, their replaceability, and their longevity, all depend on how hard they have been training not just physically at the gym but also to play other longer formats that are year after year losing their grip on the audience. That is a different story if players are only training to play this Fastrack game, we hope they have their teams ready at the pitstop if their Hotwheels are impaired.
