Twenty 20 Cricket Harming the Game says Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s discarded middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf has blasted the shortest version of the game, the Twenty20 cricket for the slump in the standard of upcoming batsmen of Pakistan.
Talking to newsmen in Pakistan, the 36-year old, Yousuf said, “Twenty20 has damaged cricket. The sport requires patience and Twenty20 is damaging youngsters’ temperament. The only way to improve their performance is to keep Twenty20 cricket at the lower
levels.”
Yusuf, who was dropped from the national team last year because of fitness issues, insisted that youngster were losing the art of staying patient while batting as there is no room for calmness and composure in the hard hitting format of the game and because
of this batsmen in Pakistan are struggling to bat in the longer versions such as the one-day cricket and Test cricket.
The phenomenal batsman reiterated that patience was the key to success in Test cricket and to save future generations of batsmen, twenty20 cricket should be reduced to a minimum.
He criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selectors for picking players on their performance in Twenty20 events instead of looking at their records in the ODIs and Tests.
“Players these days are using the version to impress the selectors. It’s a quicker way to earn fame and stardom. It provides thrill to the fans and is good business but the quality of cricket has gone down. If this continues, the real charm of cricket will
soon fade away,” he added.
He argued that although Twenty20 cricket has brought endorsements in the game due which players are earning a lot more than ever before, but still the youngsters need to focus on developing and improving their technique which can only be done in the longer
versions of the game.
Twenty20 cricket should only be played by senior players who have already developed good techniques and can afford the luxury of earning more money, insisted the out of form Yousuf.
In the past, Yousuf has always stressed the need for him to be included in Twenty20 cricket as he believes that he has the experience and talent to mould his batting according to the requirements of blazing Twenty20 cricket.
The batsman, has played only three international Twenty20 fixtures and his total tally with the bat in these games is 50 runs, with a batting average of 16.66.
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