"You have a little bit more time to settle in" - Kumar Sangakkara on the difference between a player's mindset in T10 and other formats
Kumar Sangakkara feels the T10 format is much different from the others in cricket because, in T10 matches, the players need to have a clear mindset from the first ball.
He highlights that the players have more time to settle in the middle when playing other formats. However, the same was not the case in T10 matches.
Kumar Sangakkara is a former Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman who is now the Marylebone Cricket Club President. The left-handed batsman achieved much success as a player in all formats.
Team Abu Dhabi has elected Kumar Sangakkara as their mentor for the 2021 T10 League. In a media interaction ahead of the tournament, the Sri Lankan legend spoke in length about the T10 format's unique points.
"Well, in T20, you have a little bit more time to settle in. Here it's, you know, right from the start, you need to be attuned to either be taking wickets in terms of cutting down runs or as a batsman being able to execute boundaries and have big scoring overs right from the get-go," said Kumar Sangakkara.
"Ten overs, though, can be slightly longer than everyone thinks, but as in T20 format, your bowling lineup has to do a lot of work in terms of winning games. Yes, you need to have the runs on the board, the ability to score them, but more often than not, sides that have variety in the bowling usually win the shorter versions of the format, especially when there is pressure," added Kumar Sangakkara.
Team Abu Dhabi could not qualify for the second round of the previous T10 League season. This year, the home franchise has some big names in the squad like Chris Gayle, Chris Morris, Luke Wright, and Avishka Fernando. It will be interesting to see how the mentor Kumar Sangakkara impacts the team.
Kumar Sangakkara on T10 cricket being a part of the Olympics
Many fans expect cricket to become an Olympic sport soon. However, the length of ODI and Test matches has hurt the sport's chances of being included in the Olympics.
When asked how soon the cricket boards could advocate the T10 format, Kumar Sangakkara replied:
"I think there are a lot of people, investors, potential franchise owners, and cricket boards looking at this T10 format. T20 has had a big push to be included in the Olympics. Would it be T20? Would they like a more condensed version in terms of T10? The acceptance of home board in terms of this being a viable format to try and sit alongside or just under T20, the appetite of the public in terms of viewership - all of these go into that final decision-making process."
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