England captain Eoin Morgan is confident the T10 format could be cricket's way of being included in the Olympic Games.
Cricket hasn't been an Olympic sport since 1900, when Great Britain claimed a gold medal and France silver. The sport featured at the Commonwealth Games in 1998, which South Africa won, across 50 overs per innings. The T20 or T10 format could be adopted at the Olympic Games in the future.
“The one thing that T10 offers above the three formats that makes it so appealing to an Olympic games or a Commonwealth Games is the fact that you can play a whole tournament in the space of 10 days,” said Morgan at the launch of this year's edition of the Abu Dhabi T10.
“To have a tournament in such a short space of time maximises the opportunity and the exposure that it will have for the sport.”
“When you can play a cricket tournament in 8-10 days it really does make it appealing, and on top of that it really would be extremely entertaining.
“The most important part of a T20 game is always overs 10 to 20. But if you look at a T10 game, the earlier overs are the most important. You need to make the most of that very short powerplay, so who you put in those key positions and in the form that they're in, is the most critical factor.
“And equally, when you're bowling, it's about having the most effective guys on and performing in the biggest part of the game, because in T10, you can be so far behind the game if you let the opposition get off to a really good start.”
Abu Dhabi T10 moves cities
Morgan has represented in the Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10. He welcomed the tournament's move from Sharjah to the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi this year. It will run from 19 to 28 November 2020.
“When we were in Sharjah it was just ‘crash bang wallop'. The characteristics of the wicket changed day by day this year, and I think that's a good thing because it allows teams to adapt and apply themselves to whatever the best way is for that for that wicket,” he added.
