India, Feb. 20 -- The Twenty 20 World Cup, having taken off in an exhilaratingly dramatic fashion in 2007 in South Africa and travelled to England and West Indies in the years that followed, finally made way to cricket's nerve centre -- Asia -- in 2012 and remained here for three consecutive editions. It's no coincidence that the growth of the T20 format is inextricably linked to the elite competition being played in Asia, although multiple T20 leagues certainly have a role to play.

Back in 2014, the shortest format was just about coming out of its shell with critics and purists seeing little value in it. Teams went with batters who would build their innings in the traditional 50-over template, and the role of anchor(s) was pivotal to te...