T20 leagues have already pushed international cricket to the backseat, says Harbhajan

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has warned that the rise of T20 leagues, led by the IPL, could threaten bilateral international cricket. He urged stakeholders to protect Test cricket, calling it the sport’s ultimate examination amid changing player and fan preferences

New Delhi: The death of bilateral international cricket is a real possibility because of the exploding popularity of T20 leagues, led by IPL, which showcases the creme de la creme of global talent in one carnival-like celebration, former India great Harbhajan Singh has said.

In a podcast interview with PTI, Harbhajan was candid in his predictions about the game’s three formats looking at calendars that are increasingly choked by mushrooming T20 leagues. During the interview, he also revealed that his autobiography, that has been in the works for some time, will be out later this year.

---

“Already it has happened, 70 per cent (people are watching club cricket instead of international cricket),” Harbhajan said when asked whether T20 leagues would eventually take up the space that has belonged to international engagements traditionally.

“If India plays Australia then there is good viewership but if India is playing Sri Lanka or Afghanistan, the viewership is not there. Australia playing England, the viewership is there but not for an England Bangladesh series,” he added as another India-Sri Lanka Test series loomed over the weekend.

“If there is an India-Australia, India-South Africa or India-England series, I’d love to watch it. I would pay to watch Test cricket. I have no interest in ODIs. I have seen it, played it,” added the feisty former off-spinner from Punjab, who collected 269 wickets in 236 ODI appearances.

For Harbhajan, Test cricket is the ultimate examination of a cricketer’s skill and character and should remain the pinnacle of the sport.

“Test cricket is main cricket. All the stakeholders of the game should protect Test cricket and promote it. Because Test cricket is the best cricket, it tests you in every possible way as a cricketer,” he said.

From the wildly popular IPL in India to Australia’s Big Bash League and England’s The Hundred, franchise cricket has developed an identity of its own, propelled by loyal fan bases, who have warmly adopted the condensed spectacle featuring some of the biggest names in world cricket.

The growing dominance of T20 cricket has left one-day internationals and Tests fighting for relevance. Harbhajan said the packed stadiums in franchise-based league games are enough evidence to understand the shift in fan preferences.

“…you see The Hundred, the grounds are packed, BBL the grounds are full. In IPL, you can’t find tickets. Already that culture has developed that two months of IPL is a festival…a carnival,” he said.

“So that shift has happened in which international cricket has taken a backseat.” With leagues becoming increasingly powerful commercially too, Harbhajan does not expect international cricket to simply reclaim the position it once enjoyed.

The former bowler said it was a natural progression for a product which offered fans a mix of sports and entertainment.

“It would be difficult to (for international cricket to get) back to its former stature because the leagues have become so big. In the league, the fans get to see a mixture of everything, competing with each other, so that’s a different spectacle.” “I would want international cricket to get more attention because it (deserves it). But this two-month window (of IPL), a lot of people’s interest is in that.” He also acknowledged that the emergence of T20 cricket has fundamentally altered the mindset of players as well as the expectations of spectators.

The cash-strapped West Indies Cricket Board has often stated the problems it has faced in retaining quality players for national duty as an increasing number opts for freelancing in T20 leagues.

In New Zealand too, high-profile players such as Kane Williamson and Devon Conway declined central contracts to pursue T20 opportunities globally.

“The way things have changed with the T20s coming, the mindset of batters has changed, the public’s perception has changed. There’s lack of time, so people want to see a shorter format,” Harbhajan said.

“Test cricket has come to the backseat whereas it should be at the top level,” he admitted.