Former India captain Bishen Singh Bedi says "Twenty20 is rubbish" and cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be called a game of cricket.
"By the time you get to know what is happening on the ground the whole thing is over and one side emerges winner. A fifty-over one-day game is still better; at least the spectator gets entertainment worth his money," said the legendary spinner who turned 60 last month.
Bedi came down heavily on the Duckworth-Lewis method to decide matches curtailed due to external factors like rain, dust storm, poor light etc, saying, "I do not understand what kind of method do they apply for finding out a winner. The earlier method of whoever scored less in first 25 overs being declared a loser was better."
Asked how much has changed in the game since his playing days, he replied: "Now there is more money in the game and far too many matches are being played. New places like Malaysia are being chosen to play matches with the sole motive of generating more funds.
"The weight of the ball still remains the same, the distance between the wickets is 22 yards, we still have a six-ball over.
"Yes, the individuals have changed and with them have come new thinking in promoting what was known in our times a gentleman's game."
Talking about the ball tampering incident in England that led to the stand-off between Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq and umpire Darrell Hair, Bedi said it could have been avoided.
"Such incidents bring disrepute to the game," he added.
He refused to speak about Pakistan fast bowlers Sohaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif testing positive, saying, "Please leave me out."
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