The subtle differences between T10 and T20 cricket: how is T10 furthering cricket’s global expansion?

Jai Sommerlad | 12:05am BST 21 April 2024

T10 cricket has rightfully earned a special place in the hearts of cricket fans. And this is not just in countries where cricket constitutes an integral part of the tradition, heritage, or national culture, but even in nations that have never been particularly interested in the sport, at least up to now. T10 cricket is so popular today, that it’s included in the hot betting market lists of every betting site in Bangladesh, even though this format is not so widespread among players. 

If we look at all the ways in which T10 cricket is different from its closest ‘sibling’, T20 cricket, then we would definitely think of the obvious features that distinguish the two formats. 

First, it is the duration. While T20 cricket is played over three hours, T10 cuts the game time in half, resulting in a match lasting for nearly 90 minutes. Well, this is the explicit difference between the two, but what is implied is what actually makes some sense. 

T20 became shorter because the typical cricket matches would last for five days. That’s a lot, not only for the players themselves, but the audiences also. Hard to maintain focus and enjoy a game whose duration can stretch your ability to “be there”. Because spectators and audiences, in general, actually get bored and people are not particularly fond of sitting and watching an entire match that goes on for so long. 

So, if T20 addressed the issue of time, why was there even a need to get matches shorter? This has to do with the implied differences existing between the two formats. T20 was able to revitalize people’s interest in cricket as well as bettors’ enthusiasm, especially over IPL betting in any bkash betting site, but it hasn’t been all that effective in reaching younger audiences and enjoying the peaked levels of support and loyalty that football, let’s say, enjoys among the youth.

T10 has the potential to make cricket a mainstream sport, popular among the youth. The same kind of youth that goes crazy about football, that follows with the utmost commitment to their favorite clubs, and brings the sport to the top of the list of all global sports. The same youth that is able to elevate sports and make them wildly popular across the world. 

Being shorter doesn’t mean that T10 removes any of the glory of cricket itself or its essence. In fact, it can be fast, dynamic, and full of magnificently displayed cricketing skills, all in match time that is so compressed, that it resembles the fast-paced character of football. And this makes the whole game more appealing to younger audiences, who are generally more easily attracted to ‘speed’ and things that go fast!

Overall the youth wants action and they want it to occur within a relatively short period of time. It’s really hard to keep them engaged in a match that extends beyond what they consider as an acceptable ‘spending time’ on sports. 

Besides the fact that the duration of T10 is more prominent in attracting the right kind of audience that can take cricket globally, it is also the intensity and the kind of the game that is different. 

When T20 was first introduced, everybody was surprised by the demand for impressive cricketing skills in such a short time. T20 players had to have everything that cricketers had, only in excess. 

Soon, however, the over-three-hour matches stretched the initial excitement and resulted in beautiful cricket moments and exceptional cricketing performances being spread over what seemed to be a longer match than it actually was. Still, T20’s contribution to cricket’s success has been unique and it is certain that if it weren’t for IPL (for the most part), cricket would still be confined to the cricketing nations. T20 took cricket beyond boundaries. 

But T10 is capable of getting farther with cricket’s popularity. It is capable of bringing widespread acknowledgment, preference, and support from new fans – and most importantly, young fans. That’s because it’s super compressed, super fast, super intense, and showcases super skills and capabilities in batting, bowling, and fielding from the players. If they had to have everything in excess with T20, you need to do the math to think what they must have for T10 cricket. 
The Abu Dhabi T10 has paved the way towards this end. It’s a league that is becoming more popular season by season – having effectively reached its eighth season- while it has been gaining the attention of younger audiences even in places where cricket has not always been a sport integrated into their tradition, culture, or routine.