Some may refer to a cricket match as a bat-and-bat match. While this definition may have been in effect when it was first used in southeastern England in the 16th century, it may now receive unfavorable support. We are now living in the 21st century and as things have changed, evolved so to speak, the gentleman’s game has evolved into something bigger. Although historians originally called it a children’s game, the game later became complex and technical and became more than just a ball-and-stick game. In order to celebrate what we have now, we should also respect the past. To learn a little about the game of cricket, we traveled to England in the past. Although cricket now attracts money from all directions, it was originally a low-key sport that did not gain much popularity. Slowly, the game started to gain recognition. Since then, cricket has also been able to create a meeting point where people from different categories can compete but most importantly enjoy the same sport. When the East India Company introduced the game to the Indian masses, it sparked the same movement in India. The venerable Bombay Quadrangle Festival (held from 1912 to 1936) is one such example. Test cricket, the longest format of the game, continues to exist even after many years. In the early 1960s, the story shifted again to England and its counties, where the need for a limited-overs format was discussed. These changes are appropriate both domestically and internationally. This means the sport will now have its own World Cup. When we talk about the limited overs format, we are only talking about one-day internationals now as the very popular T20 cricket comes much later in the timeline. The main reason why one-day internationals are a popular choice is that by the end of the tournament, you are guaranteed to have only one winner. This paved the way for the Cricket World Cup, which has been held every four years with few exceptions since 1975. During this period there was an increase in cricket governing bodies. With a new format, there are new teams. With the addition of T20, the shortest format in the game, this number will only increase. The T20 competition was originally introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for inter-county competitions. The first men’s international T20 match was held in Auckland in February 2005 between Australia and New Zealand. The newest format, and the shortest on the list, offers awe-inspiring moments. One can imagine India’s victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, a tournament filled with extraordinary moments. The game of cricket, whenever it changes to offer something new, always brings new options. With T20, cricket’s own club competition system was introduced. “220” gave birth to T20 franchise leagues around the world. The Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the flagship T20 leagues, is perhaps the best example. This gives fans the opportunity to watch live thrillers more often than usual. Franchise-based T20 cricket tournaments have also become a huge source of cash and sponsors have jumped on the T20 franchise cricket bandwagon
