Cricket's fourth format unveiled: Matthew Hayden, Russel Arnold, Rajkumar Sharma headline launch of Test Twenty in Colombo

The evening was attended by former Australian cricketer and legendary batter Matthew Hayden, former Sri Lankan stalwart Russel Arnold, and Virat Kohlis childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma, setting the stage for a 10-match inaugural season that runs from 14 to 29 November, a release said.

Cricket's evolution reaches its next frontier with Test Twenty, the world's first 80-over format. Each team plays two innings of 20 overs, with first-innings scores carried forward into the second. Completed within a single day, a Test Twenty match fuses the strategy of Test cricket with the intensity of T20, creating a game that is fast, tactical, and deeply competitive.

Season 1 features four continental founding franchises: South Asia, Australasia, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Each fields a Boys' XI and a Girls' XI who compete together for the same championship result, with every player aged between 13 and 21.

Positioned as crickets fourth format, Test Twenty is guided by a distinguished Board of Advisors featuring cricket legends AB de Villiers, Matthew Hayden and Sir Clive Lloyd, alongside renowned Indian coach Rajkumar Sharma, who serves as Chairman of the Selection Committee.

The initiative is led by Gaurav Bahirvani (Founder and Chairman), who stated as per the release, Test Twenty is our attempt to take cricket into a new era by creating a format that is innovative, inclusive and focused on the future of the game. By bringing boys and girls together on the same competitive platform, we want to champion equality while providing young cricketers from across the world with an opportunity to showcase their talent. This is just the beginning of a journey to create a new global cricketing platform.

Also, speaking at the launch ceremony, Matthew Hayden, who is also the mentor of Australasia, said, as per the release, What makes this format particularly exciting is the opportunity it provides young cricketers to play more cricket. You don't get better by playing less, and that's something the game needs to address. With the current focus largely on 50-over and T20 cricket, Test Twenty offers players more opportunities and time in the middle to perform and develop their skills. The fact that boys and girls get to play together makes it even more meaningful. I believe this additional exposure and match experience will help accelerate the development of young cricketers.

He added, I see Test Twenty as a very good pathway product for the next generation. It is not trying to replace or compete with the existing high-performance structures, but rather complement them by providing young players with another platform to develop, gain experience and progress in their cricketing journeys. I think that's a great initiative.

Arnold asserted, Test Twenty offers young cricketers a tremendous opportunity to gain experience, learn from different cultures and develop their skills.

We hope this format receives the support it deserves. There will naturally be scepticism around anything new, but once people recognise the opportunities it creates, I believe they will appreciate its value. The concept of parity and equal opportunities has the potential to make a significant difference to cricket in the years ahead, he added, as per the release.

Also, Rajkumar Sharma expressed his thoughts on the new format and said, as per the release, Test Twenty is a fantastic start and a fresh concept for cricket, bringing boys and girls together in the same tournament. The enthusiasm among the young players has been brilliant, and the response from the cricket fraternity has been equally encouraging. Everyone I have spoken to has appreciated the concept, which makes me confident that this format has a very bright future. I congratulate Gaurav Bahirvani for taking this initiative.

The Fourth FormatThe Test Twenty can be perceived as 'middle-form' cricket. It is not as long as a five-day Test, and not as momentary as a T20. The fourth format has been built to bring the strategy of Tests while channelling the energy and intensity of T20s, with a result inside a single day.

Two innings of 20 overs per side, 80 overs in total per match. The Boys' XI and Girls' XI play together for the same outcome. Scores are carried forward from the first innings to the second. The follow-on is possible. A match can end in a win, loss, tie, or draw. A tie is decided by a Super Over. For a draw, the team batting last (in the fourth innings) must not lose more than four wickets until the final ball. The moment the fifth wicket falls, the draw is off the table, and the team plays for a win or a loss.

At the heart of the concept is the revolutionary Parity Rule, which integrates male and female players into the same competitive ecosystem for the first time in crickets history. Each franchise will field both a boys XI and a girls XI, with the two teams contributing to the same overall match result and championship standings. The boys XI and girls XI compete across separate 40-over innings, ensuring that both are equal stakeholders in their franchises pursuit of victory. Under this system, no franchise can claim the championship without the combined contribution of both its male and female squads.

Test Twenty features four continental founding franchises: South Asia, Australasia, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Each represents a world region and embodies the game's universal reach and diversity. Together, they represent cricket's expanding global heartbeat and its enduring connection to India, the sport's spiritual home.

The four teams play a six-match league stage, with each side facing the other three once. The league stage is followed by Qualifier 1, the Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and the Final on Sunday, 29 November.

Built for the future, Test Twenty is designed exclusively for players aged 13 to 21 from around the world, giving young cricketers a global stage to test their skill, temperament and passion. It is a celebration of youth, opportunity and fearless ambition, where the next generation does not wait to be discovered. They step up to be seen. (ANI)