We are the MOST POWERFUL nation in the WORLD of Cricket.

Yes, it’s official. We heard rumors, we heard stories and we heard some opposition players/teams/officials grumble about it…but now the truth is out. India is the most powerful nation in world cricket. Sri Lanka has officially announced that they have postponed their search for the coach till India decides. This is what Jayantha Dharmadasa, chairman of the government-led committee running Sri Lanka Cricket had to say

"We have to realise that the Indian board is the richest in the world and coaching the Indian team is a prestigious job," said Dharmadasa. "Since the Indian board kept things on a hold, our candidates wanted some time as well"

What more proof do we need?

With money, comes power & with power comes responsibility! India from now on must act as a powerful nation in world cricket. It must talk the talk & walk the walk. From now on, we must use our influences to spread the game & also make the game more interesting. Rather than viewing it as an untouchable, ‘Twenty Twenty’ should be embraced quickly. If the game were to spread & if they games were to be interesting, 20/20 is the best option available. Cricket matches must be over in 3 ½ - 4 hours if it were to spread its wings to other parts of the world and also if it were to retain its existing base in this ever changing world. A lot more changes in the rules must be made so that the game is more even between the bat & ball.

Some of the changes that could be made so that the contest between bat & ball is more even are:

• Field restriction for 15 overs in a 50 over game or 4
  overs in a 20/20 game at the discretion of the fielding captain.
• No limit for number of overs for bowlers – The 10 over limit in a 50 overs game and 4 overs in a 20/20 game should go, but 5 bowlers to be used. Which means in a
  20/20 game, though 1 bowler can bowl 10, another 7; three other bowlers will have to bowl one over each.
• No balls to be judged on popping crease
• 2 substitutes to be allowed – who can bat and/or bowl – but still only 11 players can bat & 10 wickets to take.
• If substitutes cannot be allowed, then there should at least be an option of announcing the playing 11 after the toss.

If all the above rules are enforced, it could make the game really interesting!

Remember the days when rains use to play spoilsport in an ODI game and matches were truncated to 25 overs a side. These matches had pure adrenalin in them, the matches were always action packed & interesting till the very end. After seeing the 25 overs a side game, we always felt the 50 over ODI to be boring (Particularly the period from 16th over to 40th over). 20/20 is the evolution to 50 overs ODI cricket. It has none of this slack.

India must push for these changes. India must be the innovator. It should position itself as the ‘Super power of World Cricket’. To do this, India must adapt quickly to the changes & also lead the changes from the front. Domestic series in India should be held in the 20/20 format. The goose must be bred and we must not wait till the goose dies to find a new goose. If crowds for the last Indo-Pak series are a benchmark, then India must act soon. Eden Gardens cannot be half full. It pains to hear that India’s pride was half full for a test match (even a Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal attracts more crowd in Kolkatta!)

India must also push for the inclusion of countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and Middle Eastern countries in the ODI format. There is a large number of Indian diaspora living in all these countries and it would be easy to target these countries with cricket.
If cricket can be used for talks with an old enemy, it can certainly be used to make friends. India must take the initiative now and start acting like a cricket power house. With India already having a large share of the pie, India must now look to increase the size of the pie. That is the only way that we can continue to grow and use cricket to our advantage.

20/20 should be used for spreading the game while the 50 over ODI/Test cricket is played among the faithful. India should lead this change & it is in India’s best interests that we act as leaders and not followers in this change. Australia has the best players, England has the history but India have the money and we need to leverage this money power for more benefits to India & its economy.