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Follow UsThe first men's match of the 2023 Asian Games between Nepal and Mongolia turned out to be a completely one-sided affair. It was almost like a school team facing an International giant, and the result was inevitable.
Nepal, a team with 57 matches of T20 international experience, were up against Mongolia, who were playing their first game. Man! What followed next was just brutal. Batting first, Nepal accumulated 314 runs, the first men's team in all T20s to breach the 300-run mark. Bahrain Women's team (318/1) against Saudi Arabia in 2022 and Uganda Women's (314/2) against Mali in 2019 have achieved the feat in Women's cricket.
Kushal Malla recorded a century off just 34 balls (the fastest in T20Is), and Dipendra Singh Airee reached his half-century in just nine balls, the fastest in all T20s. In the end, Nepal won by a margin of 273 runs.
To achieve these records, it does mean a lot. But it makes you wonder, is it fair for teams like Afghanistan - who held the record against Ireland, a Test-playing nation - or even for someone like Yuvraj Singh, who had recorded the fastest half-century against England? But before opining on that, let’s understand how the rules evolved over the years.
The rule change in 2019 that awarded T20I status to Associates
Before 2019, the ICC had given T20 international status to Scotland, the Netherlands, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Oman, alongside 12 Test-playing nations. However, the matches played between 92 other Associate teams weren’t considered international games.
However, in the 2018 Annual General Body Meeting, the ICC gave T20 international status to all its associate members to democratize the sport. All Member women's teams were awarded T20I status effective from 1 July 2018, while all the men's teams received it from 1 January 2019.
ICC's chief executive director Geoff Allardice said, "We are particularly pleased with the unanimous agreement to award all T20 bilateral games international status and the move to create a global ranking system for T20Is. We are committed to growing the game, and T20 is the vehicle through which we'll do this, and removing restrictions and having all members ranked is a positive step forward."
What has this rule led to?
Before this decision, only the matches between teams granted official status were considered a T20I. Also, a game between a Test-playing nation and an associate would count as a T20I.
For example, if a Test-playing nation like India played a game against Namibia or the United States of America (associate before 2019), it would be considered as an international T20.
However, if Nepal or the Netherlands, a non-Test-playing country with international status before the amendment, played Namibia or the USA (associate), it would be considered a T20. For better clarity, today’s Asian Games match between Nepal and Mongolia would have been a T20 according to the old rule.
The games between two associate members were regarded as a T20.
But since 2019, every game has been given international status. Let it be a bilateral series between unknown teams like the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man, and it is counted as an international T20.
In any case, the franchise leagues work differently. Leagues like the Indian Premier League, Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League, SA20, and others hosted by Test-playing nations would receive T20 status or come under major leagues.
On the other hand, leagues hosted by non-Test-playing nations are categorized as other T20s. This is why International League T20 (ILT20) - hosted in UAE, and Minor League Cricket (MLC) - hosted in the USA, are classified as other T20s.
The move to give international status to all teams might have been a democratic one and a foot forward in cricketing terms. But they still need to catch up when competing with experienced teams. The destruction of Mongolia is an illustration of it.
