T20Is still the pinnacle, ahead of domestic leagues, believes Jos Buttler
What’s the story?
Jos Buttler, who many believe is the poster of England's resurgence in One Day Internationals, has said that he believes the T20 internationals will always remain the pinnacle, and no amount of franchise cricket can quite match the intensity in international cricket.
"I think T20 cricket is so strong, then surely the pinnacle - as it would be for guys wanting to play Test match cricket - should be playing for your international side. I think for a professional cricketer, in any form of the game, your aspirations are always to represent your country," Buttler was as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
The details
Buttler also wanted scheduling to be done in a much more coherent way so that ODIs and T20Is are given importance. He said that in an ideal case, three ODIs and three T20Is should be the way to go ahead and this could well mean that a one-off T20 match should be shelved for better balance.
However, he still believed that there is nothing wrong in younger players to state their ambitions and aim to be a Test cricketer right from a tender age.
The wicket-keeper further added that players in the modern context are well-equipped to handle and flourish in all the three formats and it all depends on what a particular individual wants from the game.
In case you didn’t know…
Earlier in the week, England coach Trevor Bayliss had said that T20Is should be done away with and players should hone their skills in the different leagues all over the world.
Also, two of Buttler's teammates in Alex Hales and Adil Rashid have opted for a white-ball the only contract, thus putting their red-ball and first class ambitions on hold, a trend which many fear will eventually run through the entire system.
What’s next?
There is a constant tussle between all the three formats and with many players cutting short their International career to prolong the cricketing career is on the rise and the ICC and the different boards will have to seriously contemplate on the scheduling of the bilateral series and lend some sort of relevance to every match which takes place.
Author’s take
How cricket will survive the onslaught of the several T20 leagues which have mushroomed all over the globe has ignited plenty of debates over the past few years.
However, no particular step has been taken to arrest the momentum of these marauding T20 leagues, which has only forced the hand of players and they cut short their International careers to become freelance globe-trotting T20 players.
There will always be different versions camouflaged as solutions to the prevailing problems, but the ball is parked in the court of the ICC and the affluent boards and how they perceive the future might well dictate the health of the game, as a whole.
Mere lip-service is all facade, few steps need to be taken to prioritise Test cricket and to render more relevance to all International matches.