LAHORE (Dunya News) – Cricket is set to introduce a new format, “Test Twenty”, in which boys and girls will play separate innings but contribute to a single team score in a tournament scheduled to take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from November 14 to 29, 2026.
According to the organisers, the inaugural tournament will feature 160 young cricketers aged between 13 and 21, divided into four continental teams. Each team will comprise 20 boys and 20 girls.
Under the format, boys will compete against boys and girls against girls, but the combined scores of both sides will determine the overall winner. Each match will consist of 80 overs, divided into two 40-over sessions.
The first 40 overs will be played during daylight using a red ball, with players wearing traditional white clothing. The remaining 40 overs will take place under floodlights, using a white ball and coloured kits.
The tournament’s advisory board includes former South African captain AB de Villiers, former Australian batter Matthew Hayden and former West Indies captain Sir Clive Lloyd. Rajkumar Sharma, known for coaching Indian star Virat Kohli during his early years, will head the Global Selection Committee.
The matches will be held at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), with the final scheduled for November 29.