By Saroj Pathirana BBC Sinhala Service

It is because the talent, he told BBC Sandeshaya, that players in Twenty20 games are offered huge sum of money leading up to 250,000 USD per week.

	Atapattu predicts Twenty20 would soon take over other forms of cricket

“What we should understand is this is a profession for many of the players. It is the talent which is awarded, not everybody is paid huge sums,” Atapattu, who currently contracted with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) told BBC Sandeshaya.

He retired from international cricket late last year after falling out with national selectors.

The selectors are “Muppets headed by a joker” he told media while playing for Sri Lanka in Australia in November, last year.

The current president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Arjuna Ranatunga, also agreed with Atapattu’s criticism aimed at chairman of selectors Asantha de Mel, but added Atapattu’s timing was wrong.

De Mel, for his part, earlier accused Atapattu of not helping the team spirit while playing under Mahela Jayawardene.

What we should understand is this is a profession for many of the players. It is the talent which is awarded, not everybody is paid huge sums Marvan Atapattu

The newest form of cricket that started as an experiment in UK is quickly adopted by the biggest cricketing nation in the world, India.

The Indian Cricket Board introduced Indian Premier League (IPL) to counter the threat posed by the rebel ICL headed by World Cup winning captain, Kapil Dev.

Both leagues are reported to offer huge sums of money to players that include international stars as well as emerging Indian cricketers.

Sri Lanka’s all leading players including skipper Jayawardene, vice captain Sangakkara, veterans Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas are currently taking part in the IPL.

Many former players have, however, had privately voiced concern over the way the game is heading and the huge sums paid to those taking part.

“Not every player, though very talented, get the opportunity to play for their country. So this is a real opportunity for those players,” Marvan Atapattu told BBCSinhala.com.

Not every player, though very talented, get the opportunity to play for their country. So this is a real opportunity for those players Marvan Atapattu

“Why don’t they criticize (football) Premier League for example?,” he queried.

The best form is cricket still is Test matches and the Twenty20 will be a “huge challenge” for the longer forms, according to his opinion.

However, Test and one day internationals have also come a long way through many variations specially to attract fans, Atapattu pointed out.

He is of the opinion that Twenty20 will be a huge success in the near future.

“This is only the beginning. I think critics will understand the importance of Twenty20 with the time being. They will understand it is the talent which is awarded,” the former Sri Lanka skipper said.