The idea of 100-ball cricket has been floating around for a while now. Ever since England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) proposed a plan for a new city-based competition in 2020 that would be a 100-balls-a-side affair, there have been plenty of different opinions.
While the new age fans seem to be excited about the possibility of a new format, pure cricket enthusiasts have raised concerns about how a format such as this can actually corrupt the game further.
The idea of the '100-ball concept' is simple enough - of 15 traditional six-ball overs, and a final 10-ball over. According to the ECB, their idea is to get more audience, particularly some new ones, for their domestic games. If the tournament does find popularity in England, then it may well be adopted by other cricket playing nations pretty soon as well.
However, some cricketers have raised concerns and dismay over the 'The Hundred', as it is being popularly called.
Indian captain Virat Kohli has been pretty vocal about adding another format to the game. "I'm already very... I wouldn't say frustrated, but sometimes it can get very demanding of you when you have to play so much cricket regularly. I feel somewhere the commercial aspect is taking over the real quality of cricket and that hurts me," he was quoted as saying to ESPNCricinfo.
Kohli has raised some important points. Modern age cricketers are saddled with the three formats anyway and the cricket is relentless all year round. And what's more is that ODIs and Tests are struggling for survival and there is proper planning needed to ensure their longevity. If another format is forced on the fans, then it might be counterproductive for the older formats and might start breaking the cricketers down – both mentally and physically – further.
"Honestly, I don't want to be a testing sort of a cricketer for any new format. I don't want to be someone who's going to be part of that World XI who comes and launches the 100-ball format. I love playing the IPL, I love watching the BBL, because you're working towards something, competing against high-quality sides and it gets your competitive juices flowing. That's what you want as a cricketer. I'm all for the leagues, but not to experiment," Kohli was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
On the flip side, it is also true that the 100-ball format may bring in some new fans to the game because it is targeted at a specific audience. Cricket does need to evolve with the times but one feels forcing in 'The Hundred' on cricket fans and players at this moment might be doing more harm to the game than good.
One mustn't forget that T20 cricket is not even two decades old. And several fans have still not warmed up to it. Hence, 'The 100-ball' idea might be given a thought maybe a decade or two down the line. Right now the game feels fine in the way it is evolving and we need to give it time to prosper.
