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Rediff.com  » Sports » Twenty20 has great atmosphere: Dravid

Twenty20 has great atmosphere: Dravid

Source: PTI
August 10, 2006 19:46 IST
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India cricket captain Rahul Dravid says it is going to be a challenge to integrate the Twenty20 format with domestic cricket.

"A Twenty20 match at the international level is always going to be a success. Fifty50 (one-day internationals) was a success. That's not the challenge. The challenge is to see that it's a success in the domestic form of cricket. How it's going to be done, what's the way forward? I think, it's going to be trial and error," Dravid said.

"Twenty20 cricket is ideally suited for England, where it is played in the evening (between 5 pm and 9 pm), because of the nature of the game. It's a brilliant game for England.

"In India one has to learn and experience as one goes along to see how it works in domestic cricket. At this stage, one can't say for sure this is the way it will work. One has to wait for a few years to see how it works and learn from experience."

"In 3-4 years, one might come up with a formula or format (for Twenty20) that would be suitable for sponsors and players," added Dravid, at a press conference to announce the second edition of a Twenty20 Cricket tournament for the Bradman Cup, which gets underway in Bangalore on Friday.

Dravid said despite the popularity of one-dayers and Twenty20 cricket, Test cricket will retain its glory in the hearts of players.

"Spectator interest in Test matches has already seen a slight decrease. But I don't think that (the decrease) is just because of Fifty50 (one-day game) or Twenty20. There are lot of other factors," he said.

"In terms of players, I don't think so. Test cricket will always be very important for players. I don't think players will ever take Test cricket lightly," he said.

Asked if Twenty20 cricket would "hamper" cricketers who are doing well in Test cricket, he said it's up to the players to adapt to the new version.

"People had similar concerns when one-day cricket was introduced, but it's debatable whether one-day cricket had positive or negative impact on Test cricketers."

On his impressions of Twenty20 games, Dravid noted that he played only a couple of them.

"One of the things you do enjoy about Twenty20 cricket is its atmosphere... great atmosphere!"

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