Explained: What is the Test Twenty? A new format introduced in cricket

Test Twenty will be an 80-over contest, set to be launched in January next year.

Four legends of international cricket- AB de Villiers, Clive Lloyd, Matthew Hayden, and Harbhajan Singh have launched a new format of cricket called ‘Test Twenty’. The format of the game will be a combination of test cricket and T20 cricket.

The debut edition of the tournament will be launched next year in January. Youth cricketers between the ages of 13 and 19 will be part of the competition, which was launched on Thursday, October 16.

Villiers, Lloyd, Hayden, and Harbhajan are members of the advisory board of the Test Twenty tournament. They expressed their excitement for the fourth format, which they believe will act as a bridge between formats and bring excitement to the new generations of players.

What are the rules of Test Twenty cricket tournament?

The matches in the Test Twenty tournament will consist of 80 overs, which will be divided into four intervals of 20 overs each. Both sides will bat and bowl for 20 overs each twice during a single game.

The matches will be played in whites with a red ball. All the games will be completed during a single day. Moreover, each team will be allowed to take a four-over long Powerplay once in a match.

If a team earns a lead of 75 runs or more after the first innings, they can enforce a follow-on on the opposition team. A maximum of five bowlers can be used by teams during a match. Each bowler can bowl a maximum of eight overs during the entire game. Notably, a match can end with a win, loss, tie, or draw.

AB de Villiers launches Test Twenty tournament on X

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers shared a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday (October 16), revealing details about the Test Twenty tournament. Have a look at the video below.

Gaurav Bahirvani, architect behind Test Twenty, feels that the tournament will bring youth cricketers together.

“We’ve combined Test cricket with T20 and fused them into a format that gives today’s generation what they crave, which is intensity with meaning,” Bahirvani said during the launch event on Thursday.

“If you look around, there is not a single, unifying platform to bring youth cricketers together. Every country has its own system, but you haven’t ever seen kids between 13 and 19 playing together as a part of a single franchise. That multicultural feel, like the IPL, with the kids will be a wonderful new introduction into the world of cricket,” he further added.

Notably, franchise cricket tournaments have enjoyed a lot of popularity among fans for the last decade. England’s The Hundred and Abu Dhabi’s T10 league are examples of franchise leagues where a new format and different rules from T20 cricket were introduced.

Both tournaments have enjoyed a lot of success in recent years. Hence, Test Twenty is expected to enjoy wide popularity among viewers with its exciting format.

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