Cricket has undergone a number of innovations over the past decade and a half. The T20 version of the sport has turned out to be a massive hit in every other country. Then came in the T10 League, which takes place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are set to introduce the Hundred, which has come in for a lot of criticism and brickbats.

It has now been learned that another format of the sport is set to be introduced. Apart from the T10 League, the UAE is now set to introduce a new format, named 90-ninety bash. The name suggests that the games will be a 90-ball affair. The first edition of the tournament will take place in 2020.

A new invention altogether

The organizers of the tournament claimed that the same was approved by the Emirates Cricket Board. Nevertheless, the board issued a clarification that they haven’t approved any new tournament for 2019-20 season.

“The proposed 90-Ninety format will be shorter than Twenty20, with the aim of making every contest sharp, edgy and action-packed, while retaining the importance of cricket skills at the core of its success,” a press release from the tournament was quoted as saying.

The format is an invention of Abdul Rahman Bukhatir (chairman of the Bukhatir Group), Salman Iqbal (founder and president of ARY Digital Network and owner of Pakistan Super League franchise Karachi Kings) and Imran Chaudhry (managing director of the Cinergie Group of companies).

For the time being, UAE will be focussed on the T10 league, which will be played from November 14 to November 24 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Last year, the same tournament took place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, but the venue has now been altered. The Northern Warriors won the championship last season, beating Pakhtoon in the Final.

They were being led by Darren Sammy, who has won a couple of World T20 titles for the Windies. A number of renowned players like Alex Hales, Nicholas Pooran and Jason Roy have taken part in the T10 league and the upcoming edition is also set to witness the same. As far as the 90-ninety bash is concerned, it will be interesting to find out how things pan out.