Indian board embraces Twenty20

Yielding to ICC pressure, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to introduce Twenty20 cricket in the domestic circuit from the coming season.

The BCCI, which had so far constantly opposed the instant version of the game, also decided to participate in the inaugural World Championship in South Africa next year. "We were out-voted 10-1 at the ICC meeting (in Dubai) earlier this year," Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, said after the Working Committee meeting. "Except us, every member was in favour of having the Twenty20 World Championship. So we had no other go but to embrace this format of the game."

The BCCI had maintained that there was no need for India to play Twenty20 cricket, which it said was invented in England because the traditional first-class and one-day games there were failing to attract crowds. The domestic Twenty20 championship is expected to be held in April-May in 2007, although the exact schedule is yet to be worked out, N Srinivasan, the board treasurer, said.

That will make it a crowded calendar as the World Cup of the traditional limited overs game in the West Indies is to be held in March-April, 2007, and the first ever Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in probably May-June. "Our plan is to have one domestic tournament every year," Srinivasan added.

"The BCCI's decision is excellent news for cricket as it ensures the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Championship will involve all ICC Full Members," said Percy Sonn, the ICC president. "That means the winning team can truly call itself the best in the world in this exciting new form of the game."

"We congratulate the BCCI on joining the other Full Members in embracing the format and look forward to a world-class tournament in South Africa that will capture the cricketing public's imagination. Twenty20 cricket has been a huge success wherever it has been played and this short and sharp event of just nine playing days will provide a global focus for the new format."

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced after its executive board meeting in March this year that beginning from 2007 to 2015, the Twenty20 World Championship would be held on an annual basis. The BCCI was forced to agree to the members' decision as it had voted in favour of such a proposal at an earlier meeting in Sydney in 2005.

But India's financial muscle had enabled them to get an exemption from playing in the inaugural event in 2007. India, however, were supposed to field a team from the 2008 event in Pakistan onwards. "Since we are anyway participating in the format, we decided to play in 2007 also," Shah said.