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As a boy, I dreamed of playing cricket for my county and my country. Obviously, I was not the only one. Very few made it to the top. The financial rewards at the time were slim but the status counted for something. The pathways to the top were random.

A scout would come to matches to watch players. Over time, he formed a view and reported to the county coaches. An invitation to a trial might be issued, a single chance to impress. Failure was unlikely to gain a second chance. Even success did not guarantee a second invitation. 

In today’s game there are much more structured pathways in place to identify talent capable of progressing to professional level. Generally, these are in age groups, starting with under-10s. In England and Wales, the pathways are organized by the county cricket boards. Naturally, the boards hope that their investment in these players will result in them displaying loyalty. The advent of franchise cricket has begun to disrupt this balance. It may be about to receive a new shock.

Last week, a new global initiative was launched, titled Test Twenty. Its focus is on 13- to 19-year-old males, with a female equivalent mooted for the second season. Test Twenty’s format concept comprises 80 overs, divided into two innings of 20 overs per side, with scores carrying forward as in Test cricket. Matches can end in a win, draw, tie or loss. There will be some tinkering with playing conditions but, crucially, players will wear white kit and a red ball will be used. The concept is billed as cricket’s fourth format, after Test, 50 overs (one day) and T20. This takes no account of either The Hundred, which is played only in England and Wales and is regarded as subset of T20, or T10 cricket, presumably for the same reason. 

The architect of Test Twenty is sports entrepreneur Gaurav Bahirvani, executive chair of the One One Six Network, whom I was fortunate to speak with on a Zoom call this week. His advisory board includes four of cricket’s luminary figures — AB de Villiers, Sir Clive Lloyd, Matthew Hayden and Harbhajan Singh. Their public statements reflect a belief that cricket must evolve while remaining true to its spirit, something that may be easier said than done. They regard the concept as visionary and evolutionary, a blend of tradition, innovation, excitement and opportunity. The opportunities are for youth. Test Twenty is designed to discover and nurture emerging talent from around the world.

Its first edition is scheduled for January in India. Player registration opened on Oct. 16, with invitations to complete the official form on the Test Twenty website. There is also a direct entry route for applicants who receive a formal recommendation from a registered cricket academy coach, a recognized cricket administrator (former or current), or a “notable” Indian cricketer, past or present. Test Twenty’s selection committee will make the final decision.

Applicants following the standard entry route will be subject to an initial evaluation conducted via the AI Discovery Engine and reviewed by the core selection committee. Short-listed players will advance to city trials at authorized Test Twenty centers across India and around the world. Ultimately this will lead to the selection of 1,000 players for the national — presumably India — and world pools.

Short-listed players from these pools will undergo an evaluation phase which will test on-field skills, mental acuity, cricket intelligence and temperament. The assessment will be based on the Test Twenty Intelligence Index, which combines AI-driven scenario testing, match simulations and expert psychological assessment.

Gaurav Bahirvani told me that TTII was proprietary, a pioneering system which had been made possible by recent advances in technology. These include stickers on the backs of bats and chips in cricket balls that transmit data to facilitate a 360-degree evaluation of performance. The owners aim to share the technology with counties, state associations and national boards through tech-transfer partnerships. In this way, coaches, academies and cricketing bodies will have access to performance data, trend analysis and developmental metrics at all levels of cricket.

After the selection of the initial pool of 1,000 Test Twenty players at stage one, the TTII will identify 300 players who will advance to a global auction pool. Six franchises will select talent for the inaugural season at auction. Each franchise is required to assemble a 16-player squad, comprising eight Indian and eight international players. Hence 96 players will be chosen at auction, with the unselected players forming a wildcard pool, or reserve group eligible for mid-season selection opportunities.

The competition is termed a Junior Test Twenty Championship, rather than a league. It will be played in one venue in India, on a round robin basis, followed by semifinals and a final.

Three city-based teams — Dubai, London and one in the US — are planned, along with three in India. Their identities have yet to be revealed but Bahirvani said that negotiations were at an advanced stage, with plans to close deals by the end of November.

Similarly, negotiations are progressing with potential broadcasters and sponsors, some of which have not previously invested in cricket. The amount of funding available to franchises has been set — this will cover the auction and player performance remuneration.

At this stage, there is no evidence of any national boards sanctioning or endorsing Test Twenty. It is not clear how experienced coaches will react to TTII. It is certainly not clear how national, regional and county boards will react to the prospect of promising young players on their books registering independently with Test Twenty. Even more unknown is how they will react should a player be selected.

Bahirvani is unfazed by these concerns. He is quite clear that Test Twenty does not seek to compete with existing cricket boards, authorities or coaches. In fact, quite the opposite. He believes that Test Twenty can co-exist with other formats and add to the talent pool of young players and provide benefits to coaches.

He is also aware of the doubters. It would be unwise to write off Test Twenty. After all, those who did so with T20 and the Hundred have egg on their faces. Test Twenty’s aim is not to compete with any cricketing institution but to complement the global effort to identify talent and expand the game. Its assessment platform blends machine intelligence with expert review to minimize human bias and assess each player solely on performance and ability to cope with pressure. The aim is to identify talent in an objective, data-driven, transparent and merit-based manner. This is a far cry from the system of assessment in my youth, when human judgement and bias were the core components of selection and progression, not to mention the breaking or making of dreams.