The nascent Indian Cricket League, and the opportunities presented by the Twenty20 format, have attracted the attentions of the authoritative international affairs magazine, The Economist, which explores how the game could be changed for good by the shortest version yet played.

The short format is more spectacular. It encourages batsmen to hit the ball out of the ground for a six, which spectators love. At the halfway mark, the Twenty20 tournament in South Africa averaged eight sixes per three-hour game. By comparison, a series of five test-matches between England and Australia in 2005, rated the most exciting in a 130-year rivalry, averaged less than two sixes a day.