What's Test Twenty? Everything to know about cricket's fourth format backed by legends like AB de Villiers, Clive Lloyd, and others

Overview

• A new Cricket format, Test Twenty, is being promoted for youngsters, which is backed by legends like AB de Villiers, Clive Lloyd, and others
• The format is likely to have matches lasting a day with 40 overs per side
• It follows the template of Tests, where there will be 4 innings, but each with 20 overs per side

A new format, Test Twenty, is being promoted by a board with members featuring legends of the sport like AB de Villiers, Clive Lloyd, and others. The South African legend took to social media and officially announced the format, whose aim is to provide a platform for youngsters in the age group of 13 to 19.

In the video, de Villiers claimed that he did not have a platform to show his cricketing skills when he was growing up. He felt Test Twenty could change that, which is catered for youngsters. The star cricketers described it as the fourth format of cricket, although there hasn't been anything official from ICC's end.

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The idea of the format is reportedly coming from Gaurav Bahirvani and is backed by former cricketers like de Villiers, Clive Lloyd, Matthew Hayden, and Harbhajan Singh. The first-ever edition or the match is set to start from January 2026 and the format has already generated enough buzz from the fans for its uniqueness.

Sachin Tendulkar's similar idea proposed for ODI's evolution

Something similar was suggested by Sachin Tendulkar in one of the past interviews. The legendary cricketer was asked about ways in which ODI cricket could be made better. Replying to it, Tendulkar felt dividing 25 overs of each side into a first half and making it an affair of four innings could help.

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The former Indian cricketer felt it could take the toss and the dew factor out of the equation. Test Twenty seems to be inspired by his idea, although the number of overs are reduced to 80 (20 per innings). More details on the format, players, and organizers are yet to be provided.