NEW DELHI: Having stepped away from a thriving international career to focus on the franchise circuit, former South Africa batter Heinrich Klaasen believes it is time T20 cricket is viewed almost as a separate sport — one in which professional leagues can flourish and help globalize cricket.The hard-hitting batsman said cricketers are moving towards a phase where they can build careers like professional footballers. But he understands that the purists and custodians of the game are not ready for a future in which international cricket is reduced and leagues take center stage.“I think cricket wants to go the football way. But cricket purists, especially in India, England, Australia, South Africa and probably New Zealand, will never let that happen. They will want Test cricket to stay. With strong bodies like the BCCI and ICC, the decision to just play T20 cricket around the world and allow international cricket for only two months of the year will never happen,” Klaasen told TOI on Thursday.“Sometimes it’s difficult to get into an international team, or it doesn’t pay as well. It’s obviously a business and you want to look after your family and your life, and you have only got a certain amount of time to do it in. So, it’s definitely heading that way for cricketers,” he added.Klaasen emphasized the need to embrace T20 cricket as the format that will shape the future of the sport. “It’s probably the format that’s going to stay the longest from now on. The other formats will either slow down a little bit or be limited. The game of cricket evolves and I think T20 cricket has forced other formats to be played differently as well. If you want to grow the game of cricket, it’s definitely the format to do it with,” Klaasen said.With T20 cricket, the dynamics of the sport have changed. Klaasen reckons it will remain that way, and that coaching manuals have already evolved.“If you look at coaches around the world, that’s exactly how they coach. They know players have different mindsets than they did six years ago. As a coach, if you want to be successful and have a job for a very long time, your mindset definitely has to change. They still give their old-school advice and make sure that the brains of cricket are still there, and that it is not just a slogfest. The balance is great at this moment, especially with the coaches I’ve been working with,” he said.
