BigCricket

Quinton de Kock is a professional South African cricketer who took some break following the lockdown.

He believes that before the start of the tournament, he will be entirely ready to get back in the game. De Kock adds that there is sufficient time for him to resume his normal swing of things. However, it will be more challenging to prepare for the unfamiliar circumstances impacting the matches.

Moving the tournament from UAE to India implies a fundamental change in the nature of the competition. Whereas organizers proceed to work towards filling the stands to nearly fifty percent capacity, some matches may be played indoors. International cricket players must start getting used to playing in the presence of smaller crowds for the foreseeable future. This will be highly evident in the IPL this year since the exciting atmosphere often associated with Indian cricket game will be lacking.

Quinton de Kock notes that everyone will miss the feeling that comes with this atmosphere. Typically, the professional cricketer notes that each game is fully packed. However, de Kock stated that the presence or absence of a crowd does not bother him. Though the player believes he can do without the feeling of being in the stadium, he admits to missing the experience.

Rabada, another cricket player from South Africa, agreed that despite the sterilized setup, the quality of the game would be at an all-time high. He further remarked that it was interesting seeing the global cricket in England. The cricketer believes that at the end of the day, you like cricket due to the skill regardless of the crowds. Being a professional player, Rabada focuses on his skills, which ought to be entertaining people.

Whether the crowd is present or not, the players will be relishing the opportunity to prove their superiority over the others. Every cricketer will show their full potential since they are passionate about what they do. Rabada remarked that they are yet to know if the hype surrounding the game will be the same. Nonetheless, from a competitive standpoint, Rabada is convinced that everything will remain the same.

He believes that the flow of these competitive juices will be crucial, especially in the competition. Only the most courageous players will run into a bowl alongside the biggest stars in India, such as MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, with the wild crowd against you. Luckily, Rabada is the sort of player who relishes such competitions. Rabada mentioned that playing against players such as Dhoni and Kohli in front of incredible crowds is a precious moment.

It is difficult to explain as both parties want to prove a point to each other. Watching the way the crowd supports those cricketers offers an opportunity that you cannot undervalue. It is exciting, and your adrenaline kicks in and keeps you going. A-list sportspeople can find their inspiration from different things. It is unsurprising that de Kock takes on a different perspective. Whereas Rabada is famous for being an emotional cricket player, his captain likes to keep out the noise to concentrate on the task at hand.

Rabada says he sees them just like any other person. He acknowledged that they are big players in India. However, Rabada believes they all own a badge and are focused on the same goal. It is only logical that someone who has taken such responsibility in the field has figured out how to ease the pressure. Having always merged the duties of a crucial batsman with putting on the gloves as a wicket-keeper, Kagiso Rabada has, in the recent past, taken over as the white-ball captain of South Africa. Balancing those two disciplines for South Africa and Mumbai, together with his latest leadership position, can be viewed as a challenging prospect. Rabada has never found this to be a challenge. He has been batting and keeping his entire life and, in the process, found himself managing all these tasks. This time it’s no different as he has not been requested to bowl. If Rabada became the South African’s Test captain, then that would be challenging.

It would have presented him with a significant amount of responsibilities. However, he is perfectly content as a white-ball captain. Rabada has done this before during the Under-19 level. Following the most extended break from their careers, professional cricketers are immediately positioned for a swift change from no games to lots of them. Consequently, it can be those with that sort of adaptability and even temperament that do exceptionally well.

Interview conducted by Betway.

Cricket is one of the world’s most beloved sports. Simple on the surface yet tactical and requiring patience, it’s grown to be a fan favourite across the globe.

Nowadays, you can choose from a vast range of markets on cricket at Sportsbet, covering everything from sixes to wickets. But behind this now-modern sport is a rich history steeped in tradition and heritage.

While many see it as a typically British game that’s lasted generations, cricket can be traced back through many different time periods, all of which have had some effect on its development.

Early versions of cricket

Historians have often traced back cricket’s origins to rural England, with the 13th or 14th century providing painting and drawings that depicted people playing a bat and ball game that held many similarities to the sport.

In its early form, villagers would simply use a gate as what would later be known as the wicket and use a thick branch or stick as the bat. It’s believed a stone was the first projectile used as a means to try to hit the gate.

It wasn’t until the 17th century that counties, grammar schools and farm communities began playing the game with clear rules, a weighted ball and a carved-out bat that could be manipulated to play different kinds of shots.

During this century, batting took on much more precedence than bowling, with the main aim being to hit as many runs as you could.

Rules and betting

As we can see in our modern world, cricket and sports betting are closely tied. This relationship dates back to the mid-18th century when the emergence of betting within the game was key to the sport introducing set rules and regulations.

When cricket grew in popularity, the upper class and nobles of England saw it as an opportunity to place high-stakes bets on who would come out on top as the winner in each county.

With serious money being incorporated into the game, early cricketing authorities – known then as ‘Star and Garter Club’, came up with clear rules to make the game more defined. These included additions such as LBW, a third stump and a stamp on the maximum width a bat could be.

The very first established ‘professional’ fixture was the inaugural clash of two of the most famous academic institutions in the country – Eton and Harrow.

Technique development

Until the 19th century, the focus of the game was largely on batting, with bowlers throwing the ball underarm. Until this time, they had the freedom to throw high, low or as fast as they liked – but this changed when a new rule was introduced in 1864.

The governing body at the time saw it fit to level the playing field and take some of the focus off of batting and require more precision and skill when bowling. That year, they introduced the rule that bowlers must throw the ball overhand.

This drastically changed the outlook of cricket, as no longer were batsmen merely testing their hitting power and enjoying directing the ball where they wanted. They now had to compete with balls coming at them as fast as 90mph and bouncing off the green in front of them.

As a result, it became commonplace for batsmen to protect themselves with padding and helmets, which was later enforced across the board as a rule.

New competitions

As cricket grew, so did the culture surrounding it. Cricket fields, which have since become historic, were perfected to provide the best surface for play and official bodies were set up to organise tournaments.

Universities gave way to county and club cricket, with professional players making names for themselves across the 19th and 20th centuries.

As cricket grew slower and more methodical in its approach, crowd engagement began to lessen, so officials decided to introduce new competitions and formats that were more appealing to those not looking to watch test series that spanned multiple days.

One-day knockout tournaments, both domestic and international, began drawing in larger crowds, while the appeal of Twenty20 cricket meant the sport had multiple ways to impose itself on the world stage.

Cricket, as we know it now, has had a long and complex history with many changes. It’s a testament to its appeal, however, that despite so many revisions it still stands as one of the world’s favourite games.

If nothing else, cricket has proven to be an adaptable sport that continues to reinvent itself and to hold appeal to new fans.

The last couple of years in particular, punctuated by the acceptance of T20, have confirmed that the future of cricket will involve plenty of strategic and technical evolution.

This is indeed true of cricket in India also. With a rich history about to celebrate its 300th anniversary, the relationship between cricket and the country of India is full of interesting events, characters, and developments. Here are a few things that we can expect to see unfold as cricket in India transitions into its next phase.

Financial incentives will only increase

If you’ve spent any time on the India cricket website, you’ll appreciate how quickly speed and efficiency are changing the way that the game is played. With more dynamic and engaging resources available for fans online, it is safe to say that the number of cricket followers will continue growing and the sport will garner more and more media attention.

This means bigger sponsorship deals and more pressure on teams, players, coaches, and management to generate winning results.

A shift towards more specialization

With the likes of T20 and Test cricket gaining more traction in India, there will need to be an increasingly clear distinction between the different formats of this great sport. As fans and players alike become smart to the subtleties that make these iterations of the game so different, the separation will become more pronounced and players will have to decide what format is being suited to their skills and career ambitions.

Players will have to pick a side

This move towards specialization will also mean that some of the sport’s greatest talents will have to decide where to invest their effort as they are likely to find less success in a cross-format approach.

Whether that means mastering new skills or refining existing ones, even the likes of Ravindra Jadeja are going to have to double down on their signature abilities. This will also present opportunities for new players to emerge as stars, as the focus shifts away from all-rounders.

T20 might just be what takes cricket all the way to the Olympics

It has been over a hundred years since a game of cricket was staged at the Olympic games, but the time might soon again be right for the world’s top cricket players to battle it out at this prestigious event. With T20 offering a shorter and more Olympic-friendly version of the sport, it is not surprising to see certain powerful members of the cricket community once again campaigning for its inclusion.

More exposure for women’s cricket

If cricket does indeed make the leap to becoming an Olympic event, this could mean that the Women in Blue would be getting a whole lot more exposure. In a similar way to how rugby has enjoyed an uptick in popularity since it rejoined the Olympics in 2009, the same trajectory could be true of women’s cricket.