Tiger roots for Twenty20 <br/>

India's youngest-ever skipper says he would have loved playing the shortened version of cricket

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Tiger roots for Twenty20

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India's youngest-ever skipper says he would have loved playing the shortened version of cricket

He's down with a sore throat, but that hasn't stopped Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi from catching all the IPL action on TV. The man who was nicknamed Tiger for his fielding prowess and hard-hitting batting style during his test playing days in the 1960s calls T20 "three hours of unadulterated fun" and feels it is a form of cricket that needs to be enjoyed.

"I would have thoroughly loved playing Twenty20. Remember, I used to enjoy fielding a lot, though I don't know if I would have been able to knock off 15 runs an over. But I sure would have loved to. The only detriment would be all this travelling. I would have hated living out of a suitcase; imagine all the unpacking," laughs Pataudi.

India's youngest-ever Test skipper (he became captain at age 21), however, feels that the new format requires players to be very fit and on the go. "Of course, the basics have to be right in any form of cricket. That is why you still see Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly or Matthew Hayden scoring most of the runs. The best players will always adjust to any form of the game," he explains.

Ask him to pick his favourite player this season, and Pataudi replies promptly, "I love watching Chris Gayle the way he strikes the ball is amazing. He is one of the cleanest hitters of the ball. I also am a great fan of Brendon McCullum, especially after his stupendous innings against Bangalore last year. But so far he has been a big disappointment."

Though Pataudi lives in Delhi, he is not backing any particular team. Instead, he's just having fun rooting for the best team of the day. "I support whichever team plays better cricket as long as cricket wins, it's fine."
And the new format is helping the game become even more popular the world over, feels the 68-year-old former cricketer.

He does not agree with those who are clamouring that Twenty20 will kill cricket, though he admits it might affect the popularity of 50-over matches. "But Test cricket will live on and may even become more entertaining as players start scoring faster," he says, adding, "I am a great fan of Twenty20. Admittedly, with so much cricket being played, it does hamper techniques and styles. Most children today grow up playing 25-over matches and therefore most, especially the bowlers, tend to grow up bowling defensively instead of trying to take risks, attack and try and get wickets. But well, again, in the end class will tell and you cannot keep a good player down u2014 whether it's a 20, 50 or a five-day game."

Also, the fact that the concept of Twenty20 cricket has been borrowed heavily from football finds acceptance with the master batsman of yesteryears. "I had great fun watching the 'super over' a few days back when Rajasthan Royals beat Knight Riders. It's a concept borrowed from football but then most concepts in IPL have been borrowed from football. It is a rather entertaining way of deciding the fate of a match that has been tied in 'regulation time'," says Pataudi.u00a0

Though he would have loved it even more if the tournament was played on Indian soil, Pataudi is pragmatic about it. "It is sad that the IPL had to move out of India but we didn't have a choice with the elections. And there was no way it could have been pushed back to the end of May because there is a lot of other cricket lined up for most nations at that time. Anyway, as long as there is a lot of cricket being played to keep people like me happy all year round, no one's complaining, I am sure," he signs off.