Chennai, Apr 15: The world's highest Test wicket-taker, Muttiah Muralitharan on Tuesday said spinners will play a big role in Twenty20 cricket and the shortest format will be the face of cricket in the future.

The Sri Lankan spinner, with 735 wickets from 120 Tests, emphasised that "T20 is the future face of international cricket" and he had no reservations in accepting it.

Spinners had a greater role to play in T20 game, Muralitharan, who is part of the Chennai Super Kings Indian Premier League Team, told a press conference after a practice session at M A Chidambaram Stadium.

Muralitharan said if people felt that spinners have a limited role in this format, the same held good for batsmen too as they also have little time to settle down.

Emphasising that spectators were looking for entertainment these days, Muralitharan said "However, as any cricketer would tell you, Test cricket is the ultimate. But these days, not many people can spare five days to watch a Test match. They need entertainment and that is what T20 is all about."

On motivation level of cricketers from other nations playing for a franchise, he said "We are all professional cricketers and as such, would love to win matches. That's the way we were brought up and will be doing our best to win the tournament."