![\"'Cricket](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-130669945,imgsize-45064,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/klaasen-0105-bcci.jpg\" "\\"Heinrich")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNEW DELHI: Having stepped away from a thriving international career to focus on the franchise circuit, former South Africa batter Heinrich Klaasen<\/a> believes it is time T20 cricket is viewed almost as a separate sport \u2014 one in which professional leagues can flourish and help globalise cricket.The hard-hitting batter said cricketers are moving towards a phase where they can build careers like professional footballers. But he understands that the purists and custodians of the game are not ready for a future in which international cricket is reduced and leagues take centre stage.\u201cI think cricket wants to go the football way. But cricket purists, especially in India, England, Australia, South Africa and probably New Zealand, will never let that happen. They will want Test cricket to stay. With strong bodies like the BCCI<\/a> and ICC, the decision to just play T20 cricket around the world and allow international cricket for only two months of the year will never happen,\u201d Klaasen told TOI on Thursday.\u201cSometimes it\u2019s difficult to get into an international team, or it doesn\u2019t pay as well. It\u2019s obviously a business and you want to look after your family and your life, and you have only got a certain amount of time to do it in. So, it\u2019s definitely heading that way for cricketers,\u201d he added.Klaasen emphasised the need to embrace T20 cricket as the format that will shape the future of the sport. \u201cIt\u2019s probably the format that\u2019s going to stay the longest from now on. The other formats will either slow down a little bit or be limited. The game of cricket evolves and I think T20 cricket has forced other formats to be played differently as well. If you want to grow the game of cricket, it\u2019s definitely the format to do it with,\u201d Klaasen said.With T20 cricket, the dynamics of the sport have changed. Klaasen reckons it will remain that way, and that coaching manuals have already evolved.\u201cIf you look at coaches around the world, that\u2019s exactly how they coach. They know players have different mindsets than they did six years ago. As a coach, if you want to be successful and have a job for a very long time, your mindset definitely has to change. They still give their old-school advice and make sure that the brains of cricket are still there, and that it is not just a slogfest. The balance is great at this moment, especially with the coaches I\u2019ve been working with,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n