Ishant Sharma was not part of the Indian squad that lifted the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 but the beanpole pacer has no doubt that the team would do whatever it takes to defend the title in England later this year.
"We will try our level best to win it again", said Ishant, who felt the format was tilted well in favour of the batsmen. Ishant was talking to reporters during the unveiling of the ICC World Twenty20 trophy in Colombo on Monday.
Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene felt Twenty20 posed fresh challenge for both the batsmen and bowlers and said, "Batsmen have to be innovative and bowlers need to look for different options."
The trophy will be taken around the world in the lead up to the ICC World Twenty20 to be staged in England from June 5 to 21.
"It's a bold new concept. It offered international cricketers new challenges," Jayawardene said.
The Sri Lanka captain went on to say that 300-plus scores registered more often now was a direct fallout of the Twenty20 format.
According to him, now that all teams have got a taste of the format, the competition would be fierce in England.
"We have learnt how to approach this game, so it will be much tougher this time. Not every team knew how to approach the game in South Africa," he said.
"But playing some Twenty20 cricket over the last two years has given us more experience. We have seen different tactics and how different people approach the game," he said.
According to him, scores would not soar in England where the ball would swing a lot.
"Teams have scored 180 to 200 in a Twenty20 game, but it will not be easy in England as even 120 or 130 might be a winning total in those conditions," he said.
According to the Lankan skipper, cricket's newest format has enhanced the players' skills.
"I think the skill has improved after Twenty20 cricket. It is more aggressive. It is a different challenge and cricketers like to challenge themselves differently," he said.
