Amid fearless batting in the ongoing IPL 2026, Australian legend Mark Taylor has made a bold statement on how modern players view the game, especially T20 cricket. The way T20 cricket is played today has completely changed the mentality of the batsmen.
In the golden era, it was all about being patient and building innings, but now it has become about attacking from the very first ball. And Mark Taylor feels T20 cricket looks so different that it almost feels like a different game, not a gentlemen’s game.
Mark Taylor gave a bold statement on T20 revolution
In his times, staying at the crease was the most important thing. Former Australian captain Taylor was known for his strong technique and ability to stay at the crease for a long time. Players were taught to first save their wicket, bide their time in the middle and then gradually increase the scoring.
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But today’s T20 cricket is completely different. Players are trained from the beginning to hit big shots. Batsmen are expected to score fast, take risks and keep the scoreboard moving at all times, with Taylor saying the focus has shifted from “don’t get out” to “scoring as quickly as possible”.
Mark Taylor believes he would be a different player in today’s T20 era
Taylor feels that had he grown up in the modern era he would have been a completely different player. They have to learn power hitting and aggressive batting as the modern game demands the same now as teams are winning matches by playing fearless cricket.
Mark Taylor on Turn It Up! Show on Channel Nine’s Wide World of Sports YouTube channel: “I would love to say yes (to being able to adjust to the shortest format). Look, I think if this was the game I grew up in, I would have to do that. There’s a certain amount of skill, different skills these days; it’s more about hitting skill.
If that was the game I had to play as I was developing as a cricketer, then definitely, I would have tried to hit the ball over midwicket. The game I learned in New South Wales was about staying inside. Don’t get out, and then you might be able to score some runs.”
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Amid changes in batting, Mark Taylor described T20 as a completely different game
The trend of aggressive batting is even more evident in franchise tournaments like IPL. Most of the top batsmen are scoring at very high strike rates, ranging from over 150 to around 200. This shows how much importance is now given to fast scoring rather than long innings.
Earlier, losing wickets used to be a big deal, but players are now willing to take risks because they know they have only 20 overs to make an impact. And that’s why Taylor believes that even though the rules are mostly the same, the way the game is played has changed so much that it feels like a completely different version of cricket.
Mark Taylor said, “T20 cricket, it’s the same number of players, but it’s a different game. It shouldn’t almost be called cricket because it’s a different game. It’s the same number of players; there’s still 10 outs, and you’ve got to bowl a side out, but you’ve only got 20 overs to bat. You’re taking responsibility for getting out, which was the essence of batting when I was a kid.”
