'Cricket wants to go football way, purists not ready': Heinrich Klaasen
South African batter Heinrich Klaasen suggests T20 cricket should be treated as a distinct sport, allowing leagues to thrive and globalize the game. He believes cricketers are moving towards football-like careers, though purists resist a future where international cricket is diminished. Klaasen emphasizes T20's role in evolving the sport and coaching methodologies.
NEW DELHI: Having stepped away from a thriving international career to focus on the franchise circuit, former South Africa batter Heinrich Klaasen believes it is time T20 cricket is viewed almost as a separate sport — one in which professional leagues can flourish and help globalise cricket. The hard-hitting batter said cricketers are moving towards a phase where they can build careers like professional footballers. But he understands that the purists and custodians of the game are not ready for a future in which international cricket is reduced and leagues take centre stage.
“I think cricket wants to go the football way. But cricket purists, especially in India, England, Australia, South Africa and probably New Zealand, will never let that happen. They will want Test cricket to stay.
With strong bodies like the BCCI and ICC, the decision to just play T20 cricket around the world and allow international cricket for only two months of the year will never happen,” Klaasen told TOI on Thursday. “Sometimes it’s difficult to get into an international team, or it doesn’t pay as well. It’s obviously a business and you want to look after your family and your life, and you have only got a certain amount of time to do it in.
So, it’s definitely heading that way for cricketers,” he added. Klaasen emphasised the need to embrace T20 cricket as the format that will shape the future of the sport. “It’s probably the format that’s going to stay the longest from now on.