What is Test Twenty? Know About the Cricket's New Format

Test cricket has been one of the best formats of the sport even despite being played for five days straight. The thrill of waiting for so long to know the results of the match has always fascinated the audience, even today. However, a new format has been planned apart from the current formats: T20I, Test, and ODI.

In a recent development, a new format known as ‘Test Twenty’ is set to be introduced to make the game more interesting. The game of cricket already has three formats. With this new format, the game is set to go through another transition.

What is Test Twenty: The New Format in Cricket

The new format Test Twenty is set to launch in January 2026. Moreover, it will be an 80-over format where both teams will get a chance to bat and bowl twice. The match will be played in four intervals for 20 overs. This will be the fourth format in cricket. AB de Villiers, Sir Clive Lloyd, Matthew Hayden, and Harbhajan Singh, who are the Goats of cricket, have endorsed it as well.

Interestingly, the format has been introduced for youth cricketers between the ages of 13 and 19. As per the new rules, each team will be permitted to take a four-over PowerPlay at any point during the match and can enforce a follow-on if they secure a lead of 75 runs or more in the first innings. A maximum of five bowlers can be used throughout the match, with each bowler allowed to deliver up to eight overs. Moreover, same as always, a match can end with a win or loss, tie, or draw for a team.

The person who formed the format, Gaurav Bahirvani, said, “We’ve combined Test cricket with T20 and fused them into a format that gives today’s generation what they crave, which is intensity with meaning. If you look around, there is not a single, unifying platform to bring youth cricketers together. Every country has its own system, but you haven’t ever seen kids between 13 and 19 playing together as a part of a single franchise. That multicultural feel, like the IPL, with the kids will be a wonderful new introduction into the world of cricket.”

Why Test Twenty Could Be the Future of Cricket?

Test Twenty, the cricket new format, aims to be the connecting link between Test cricket and T20s by providing the best features of both formats. To the new generations, who may not find a Test match interesting, this shortened 80-over format is sure to deliver thrills while still maintaining cricket’s tactical intricacies. The format can produce some high-class cricketers in the future, who can emerge to become the best cricketers in the world.

Moreover, it might become a talent pool for young players, gradually helping them to learn how to construct their innings, handle the pressure, and strategize through several innings, the abilities that are rarely featured in T20 cricket. Supporters, thus, get the chance to witness the saga of a multi, innings game condensed into just one day.

The emergence of T20 cricket during the 2000s transformed the game and played a key role to what it is today. T20 cricket helped the game grow into different regions of the world which also worked well in terms of financial aspects.