Former India batsman Yuvraj Singh on Saturday (November 16) shared his opinion on cricket’s new format – The Hundred, slated to be held in England next year.
The new white-ball competition will be played under different laws. In the matches, a change of end will take place after ten balls and bowlers can deliver either five or ten consecutive balls. Each bowler can deliver a maximum of 20 balls per game and each bowling side gets a strategic timeout of up to two and a half minutes.
As per Yuvraj, The Hundred could fashion a revolution in the sport similar to the T20 format.
"The new 100 ball format will be an exciting one. That could be close to a revolution like T20," the southpaw quoted as saying by PTI.
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The success of T20 internationals has led to the introduction of several other formats including T10.
Yuvraj, who announced his retirement from international cricket earlier this year, is currently playing his trade at the T10 League for Maratha Arabians in Abu Dhabi. In his first outing, the left-hander managed to score just six runs against the Northern Warriors.
Sharing his experience of the new format, Yuvi said: "It went really fast, I just felt there was no time at all to think about whether to block or go for big hits, but I guess that's the nature of T10."
"For me as a No 4 batsman I take 8-10 balls to get going but in T10 you don't have that much liberty. If you play 3-4 dot balls you have to get a run or need to hit a big shot. So batsmen get under pressure really fast and you got to be a little smarter. You have to pick bowlers you can hit," he added.
Yuvraj believes the T10 format would suit the swashbuckling batsmen who can innovate. However, he did express his inhibitions about the evolution of the format.
"As cricket is evolving, T10 is a very exciting format but I'm not sure if you have that much time to get in there and play an innings. In terms of pacing yourself, the time isn't there."
The 37-year-old also opined that The Hundred would be apt for the two-week-long Olympic tournament.
"If it's two-week, then 100 balls would be perfect but if it's 10 days, T10 will be good. Depending on the time frame of the Olympics, you have got to decide that."
Asked about his life after retirement, Yuvraj replied: "I am really enjoying my cricket, enjoyed playing in Canada. Unfortunately, I couldn't go to CPL. But playing two to three formats a year is great for me. I have my retired life and I get to work on things and when I miss cricket, I have these two or three events.
"Also I'm at an age when I don't wish to play throughout the year. It's been a rollercoaster 17 years, so I want as much time with my family as possible now."
(With PTI inputs)
