Ravi Shastri, the ex-Indian cricketer and coach said Test cricket should be limited to six or seven nations while the globalization of the sport should be done with T20. In recent times, despite being so entertaining, Test cricket has lost its charm as many people prefer T20 leagues around the globe which form part of the game’s future and are very appealing to youngsters.
“A better quality is the major indicator of the ratings decline, when crowds are few with no one on the edge then it becomes nothing else but meaningless cricket. Sports does not like meaningless cricket-it must have meanings. We now have 12 Test match teams why can’t we cut them down to six or seven teams and introduce the promotion relegation system.”
Shastri said this while speaking at the MCC World Cricket Connects event at Lord’s: “One possibility is to have two tiers but the richest six should continue so that interest in Tests remains high. You can globalize the game in other forms like T20.’’
Mark Nicholas, the MCC President stated that the main source of money for supporting cricket’s finances might be T20 cricket. “All would like to have T20 cricket succeed. This is the platform where the market of modern times is found, fans and money.” Despite the fact that the context of cricket associates with the term “money” as one of the most unfavorable words, taking it as such is not right since there is no other thing that can keep the game going.”
“We need to protect international cricket because it affects children.” – Former Australian opening batsman and coach Justin Langer cited the debut of West Indian fiery pacer Shamar Joseph in a Test match this year in Australia as an example.
The iconic Lord’s will be hosting the first game of the series between West Indies and England which also marks the final international appearance of Legendary pace bowler James Anderson.
