Are events like SAARC Twenty20 Cup a mere infiltration or true expansion of cricket?

At the sidelines of 17th SAARC Summit to be held in Addu Atoll, Maldives in November 10-11, a Twenty20 tournament will be held among the SAARC nations. SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and includes Pakistan, India, Maldives, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, as its members.

This is the first time a cricket tournament is being held alongside the SAARC summit. The Association has its own games, named the South Asian Games or SAF games - South Asian version of Olympic Games - which are held by and large bi-annually.


The decision to stage a Twenty20 event has far-reaching consequences. The newest version of the game – Twenty20 – has helped spread the game beyond its traditional borders. Although Test cricket has been the pinnacle of the sport, it neither got world-wide recognition as an Olympic sport nor attracted other nations into its fold.

Since the inception of Twenty20, many new avenues have opened for the sport of cricket. The Indian Cricket League (ICL) and, in particular, Indian Premier League (IPL) attracted players and sponsors from all over the world and took the world by storm. Every major nation has its own domestic Twenty20 competition, often inviting foreign stars. A champions League, in the footsteps of Football, has taken its roots.

Soon the format will become an Olympic sport as early as 2020, after International Olympic Council (IOC) included ICC as its approved federation in Febuarary 2010. It has already been included in the Asian Games and Afghanistan became first ever Asian Games champions by beating Pakistan in the last Games held in Guangzhou, China in November 2010. The Twenty20 format is the most likely to be part of future multi-sport events as it is short, crisp, thrilling and played by a reasonably large number of countries.

The first SAARC Twenty20 Cup will be held from 30 October to 8 November at the purpose-built stadium on the island of Fuvahmulah in the southern part of Maldives. It will be an under-25 event. All 8 nations will take part but Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka will be the major attraction for the home crowd. Bangladesh and Afghanistan too will thrill the fans with their exciting style of play.

Nepal though has experience of playing in ICC events for the Associate and Affiliate nations, but they would find it tough to compete with their more experienced competitors. The sole aim for the hosts and Bhutan will be to get exposure as they, in all likelihood, will be brushed aside easily.

The tournament will attract more fans and open another avenue for Twenty20 cricket. It is just not an infiltration of sport into the neighborhood, but the sport will definitely grow and expand. It may turn out to be a one-off event, yet it would generate huge interest and a new fan base. Twenty20 is the front soldier of cricket. It will help cricket to establish its feet in new lands before people turn to First Class, and even Test cricket in some cases, eventually. South Asia as the powerhouse of cricket has the ability to transmit the cricket virus to its neighbours, most notably world’s populous nation China.

The seeds that will be sown in Maldives will grow into trees and fruitful plants in future. The game is such an attraction, because most who are attracted do become addict.

Pakistan has announced a balanced 16-member squad for the event. Sabih Azhar will be the manager-cum-coach while Umar Amin will captain the side.

Under-25 Squad:  Umer Amin (C), Nasir Jamshed, Awais Zia, Shahzaib Hasan, Rameez Aziz, Zain Abbas, Jamal Anwar (WK), Raza Hasan, Muhammad Talha, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Rameez, Asad Ali, Bismillah Khan (WK), Usman Qadir