'In T20, turning the ball is not priority'

Australian spin guru Terry Jenner feels Twenty20 cricket was only for mature spinners as it hardly has a role in development of slow bowlers.

"I have been very critical of Twenty20," said Jenner on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi on Sunday.

"The format plays no role in developing spinners. I have seen lot of young spinners bowl medium pace in T20 matches in order to give less runs."

Jenner said in Twenty20 matches spinners were more inclined to bowling fast full length deliveries instead of giving the ball air.

"When I saw Harbhajan (Singh) bowl yorkers at 100 kph during the IPL, it was clever, but where's the development? From my experience, when a spinner starts pushing the ball through, he starts to lose his ability to spin it," he said.

Jenner, who taught spin legend Shane Warne the nuances of spin bowling, said Twenty20 version was for mature spinners.

"Spin bowling is all about giving the ball air to deceive the batsmen. But in T20 turning the ball is not priority. It is for mature-age spinners, not developing spinner's."

He admitted, however, that T20 cricket was full of entertainment and a cash-rich tournament like the Indian Premier League was here to stay.

"Though T20 is here to stay, I consider it popcorn cricket. But it's nice to see cricketers earning huge money, but the format is never going to work for the development of spinners."