ABSTRACT
It is only eight years since Twenty20, the newest limited-overs format, first made its appearance on the cricketing scene, but it has already transformed the game in important respects, delivering a TV-friendly and highly charged version of the game to an audience of millions and, importantly, reinforcing India's position as the economic and media hub of world cricket. More than the inflated wages paid to cricketers fortunate enough to be awarded an IPL (Indian Premier League) contract, the fast increasing number of Twenty20 tournaments across the world, or the bat versus ball contest being reduced to a six-hitting versus in-swinging-yorker contest, the most significant transformation of cricket by Twenty20 has been the powerful grip that Indian cricket and the media and business interests that underpin it now exert on the game (see Gupta, this volume).
