Cricket legends launch ‘fourth format’ of cricket ‘Test Twenty’ for young players

Cricket legends AB de Villiers, Matthew Hayden, Sir Clive Lloyd, and Harbhajan Singh along with Gaurav Bahirvani on Thursday unveiled the sport’s fourth official format, called ‘Test Twenty’, described as a dynamic fusion of Test cricket’s strategy and T20’s pace.

Designed for players aged 13 to 19, each match of the format will feature two innings per team, with 20 overs in total adding up to 80 overs per match.

The new format carries over runs between innings, allows a follow-on, and can end in a win, loss, draw, or tie, with a Super Session (one-over eliminator) to decide tied matches.

Rules of Test Twenty

Powerplay: One Power Play per team per match of four overs, can be taken in either innings.

Follow-on: Can be enforced if the second-batting team trails by 75 runs or more after the first innings.

Early collapse clause: If a team is bowled out before 10 overs, the opponent gets three additional overs in its first innings.

Bowling limits: Each team can use five bowlers, with a maximum of 8 overs per bowler across both innings.

Wides & No-Balls: Standard T20 penalties apply; front-foot no-balls trigger a free hit.

Conditional draw: In the second innings, a team can play for a draw if it loses fewer than five wickets.

Over rate penalty: Slow over rates lead to a 5-run penalty and loss of one time-out.

Super session: In case of a tie, a one-over eliminator decides the winner. If still tied, the team with more boundaries wins.

De Villiers described the concept as middle-form cricket, blending Test cricket’s tactical depth with the excitement and tempo of T20s. “It’s not as long as a five-day Test, and not as short as T20 it brings balance, patience, and precision,” he said.

The launch also included the announcement of the Junior Test Twenty Championship, featuring six founding franchises three Indian and three international. The tournament will operate under a co-ownership model, with each team jointly owned by the next generation of icons children of cricketers, actors, entrepreneurs, and global personalities connected to the sport.

The initiative seeks to bridge tradition and innovation, nurturing the next generation of players while keeping cricket’s timeless values alive.