T10 format is really good but quite challenging as well: Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir is leading the New Jersey Tritons in the first-ever US Masters T10 tournament in Florida. Known for his explosive batting style, Gambhir has embraced the challenge of the T10 format, labelling it as both exhilarating and challenging.

Having secured victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and the ODI World Cup in 2011, Gambhir's cricketing career is highly respected. As the captain of the Tritons, he brings his leadership prowess, having previously led the Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.

“The T10 format is a really good one and quite challenging as well. It is a very exciting format and hopefully, this tournament will help bring in more fans for the sport in the USA,” Gambhir said as quoted by News 18.

Exploring the complications of cricket’s fastest and most explosive format, Gambhir highlighted the unique opportunities it offers to players. 

“I think the shorter the format, you’ve got more opportunity, especially with the bowlers because you know the batter is going to look to hit you every ball. So, there will always be an opportunity. But for the batters obviously going to be difficult because it’s about going out there and hitting it from ball one. So, which is sometimes not easy,” he explained.

With a keen eye on the development of cricket, Gambhir emphasized how the T10 format could invigorate associate nations. He believes that just as T20 cricket encouraged innovative shots, the T10 format could push batters to develop even more creative stroke-play.

“A lot of the associate nations do play a lot of white-ball cricket, so obviously it will help them develop new shots as batters, which has happened a bit in T20, but you might get to see more of it in the T10," said Gambhir.

While Gambhir himself is yet to set the stage ablaze in the US Masters T10, his leadership has propelled the New Jersey Tritons into a promising position. With two wins from their first four games, they stand strong in third place among the six participating teams.