Twenty20 tournaments are great for keeping that fun and enjoyment in the game. Every tournament has its own special characteristics. You’d be mad if you didn’t want to experience all the things that our game has to offer around the world.

In the Big Bash, you get to play in front of your friends and family. The best feeling in the world is walking out to bat and hearing the Gabba go nuts.

In the Caribbean Premier League, I can play some pretty solid games of cricket, then go lay on the beach in Barbados. There are more pros than cons in the CPL!

You go over to India and these days, it’s the home of cricket. They’re mad for the game in a way that is hard to explain. It’s incredibly special to be a part of that passion by playing in the IPL.

The IPL can be ruthless, full of team owners who only care about winning. Players go out there with nervous energy, thinking about what the owner’s going to say to them after the game if they lose, or if they’re going to get sacked the next week.

Given how cutthroat the league is, I’ve been fortunate to have a very different experience.

Kolkata Knight Riders have been pretty much a family for me the last five years. They’re one of the best franchises I’ve ever worked with and it starts with the owner, Shah Rukh Khan.

You go over to India and these days, it’s the home of cricket. They’re mad for the game in a way that is hard to explain.

Though he’s been called ‘The King of Bollywood’ during a long career in entertainment, Shah Rukh Khan came from a humble beginning. He just wants us to go out and have fun. He’ll come in the change room and give us a big hug whether we win or lose. Life goes on and we have another crack next game. He’s built a very family-orientated franchise.

It’s awesome to have an owner like him, who wants you to be happy and looked after off the field. It’s special within the IPL environment.

We’ve got Simon Katich as an assistant coach, and he’s also the head coach of Trinbago Knight Riders, a CPL sister franchise. Jacques Kallis is head coach of Kolkata. Just quality people, professionally and personally.

A major upside of T20 is that I get to play with some of my best mates from other countries. I play in several different teams with Brendon McCullum, who’s just a legend. We have a beer, have a laugh, have a punt – and try to whack the ball out of the stadium. He’s a true leader, a very honest and calm guy who has taught me to respect the game so much.

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Cracking day out at the Barbados Turf Club with great company #bashbro

A post shared by Chris Lynn (@lynny_50) on Aug 29, 2018 at 11:29pm PDT

FIND YOUR COACH

I was given plenty of opportunities to learn from great coaches when I was a kid. I believe that it’s made a big difference in my career.

But not every kid nowadays gets access to senior players or quality coaches. That’s why we launched Playbook.

Playbook is an online booking platform where kids can access any coach of ours that they want. The coach names a price, time and location, and you can book a session with them.

Having launched in April, we’re growing every day and now have more than 200 coaches; quality people who are passionate about their sports, from experienced grade cricketers right up to current elite athletes.

We’ve got a lot of cricketers and netballers, a couple of swimmers, a lawn bowls guy. Adam Treloar does sessions; a lot of the Collingwood AFL boys are on board. Top rugby league players, too.

We do most coaching in-person but I can do Facetime or Skype sessions when I’m on the road, or for country kids who can’t travel into the city. We can talk purely about sport, or whatever else can positively impact their lives. We’ve focused on physical skills coaching so far but are also moving into the mentoring and sports psychology space.

It’s all about becoming the best player you can be, whether you want to play cricket for Australia or local first grade. Perhaps, we’ll have a young footy player who wants to move position in the backline from five-eighth to inside centre. The platform is all about bettering your best.

In the Caribbean Premier League, I can play some pretty solid games of cricket, then go lay on the beach in Barbados. There are more pros than cons in the CPL!

For me, coaching and mentoring young players is about giving back to the game. I’ve always said that cricket doesn’t owe me anything, but I owe cricket everything.

Gavin Fitness had a massive influence on my career as a young cricketer. He’s still my batting coach and mentor. I can call him any time of day or night. He’s always been there through thick and thin. I know that the biggest kick he gets out of working with me is seeing me on TV scoring runs. That makes him proud. That’s what it’s all about.

Jimmy Maher was another. I played at Toombul Cricket Club with him and really learned the trade of being a leader, plus how to bat for long periods of time.

It’d be pretty cool if I was coaching and mentoring a kid from 10 years-old, then one day he’s playing alongside me.

There’s a bigger purpose, too.

I want to keep kids playing outside. It’s way too common now for them to spend most of the day at school and the last few hours of the day inside playing on an iPad.

As Australians, we’re losing the culture of being outside and active. There’s no one playing backyard cricket any more. No one kicking the footy around.

I want to make sure we maintain the outdoors culture that has given us such a proud sporting history.