West Indies opener Chris Gayle reckons that openers these days take the cautious approach while opening the batting in T20 cricket and that in a way is killing the entertainment in the shortest format of the game. While comparing T10 cricket with T20 cricket, Gayle went back in time and recalled how it all started and batters opening the batting used to go all guns blazing right from the word go, much like the way it happens in T10 cricket last Few days
“I think, with T10 cricket, that’s how T20 cricket started. From the first over, batters used to go but T20 cricket has slowed down dramatically and T10 cricket has now raised the bar a bit,” Gayle said in a statement.
“They’re killing the entertainment in T20 cricket, straight up, because in those first six overs, we can get more as openers but guys are taking their own time.
“Sometimes they bat to get a score and they take away from the fire they should be bringing to the batting department in the first six overs, but T10 is spot on and hopefully, we’ll see more T10 coming around.”
On pitches which were not really conducive for playing expansive shots straightaway, the batters often resorted to adopting a cautious approach in the power plays during the T20 World Cup in the UAE.
Gayle said, “I don’t know why batters get so cagey during the first six overs. When T20 cricket started, guys were going from ball one, if you really check the history of T20 cricket looking back on it.
“I don’t like that fact, I think we should go hard, keep the entertainment that is within the game of T20 cricket and continue to keep that aggression in the first six overs.”
