Cricket

‘Have A Promotion & Relegation System’: Ravi Shastri Provides Unique Suggestion To Keep Test Cricket Alive

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4 months ago

July 9, 2024

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‘Have A Promotion & Relegation System’: Ravi Shastri Provides Unique Suggestion To Keep Test Cricket Alive

Updated Jul 9, 2024, 06:22 IST

Speaking at the World Cricket Connects, an event hosted by the Marylebone Cricket Club at the Lord’s, former India head coach Ravi Shastri emphasised the requirement for a significant overhaul in the structure of Tests to sustain its relevance and appeal.

‘Have A Promotion & Relegation System’: Ravi Shastri Provides Unique Suggestion To Keep Test Cricket Alive (Photo credit: ICC)

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has suggested that Test cricket should be brought into a structure of promotion and relegation, much like overseas football leagues, to keep the longest format relevant enough for players and the audience. He added that the number of Test-playing nations should be reduced to six or seven to increase the quality of Tests, which has taken a beating due to rise of numerous T20 leagues.

Speaking at the World Cricket Connects, an event hosted by the Marylebone Cricket Club at the Lord’s, Shastri emphasised on the requirement for a significant overhaul in the structure of Tests to sustain its relevance and appeal.

Test cricket’s reducing appeal outside India, England and Australia has coincided with the proliferation of lucrative T20 leagues across the world.

“When you don’t have quality, that is when the ratings drop, there are fewer people in the crowd, it’s meaningless cricket, which is the last thing the sport wants,” Shastri said while speaking at the prestigious meeting.

“You have 12 Test match teams. Bring it down to six or seven and have a promotion and relegation system. You can have two tiers, but let the top six keep playing to sustain the interest in Tests. You can spread the game in other formats, like T20,” Shastri added.

The influx of a significant number of domestic franchise T20 leagues has compelled players to choose them over Tests, because of their massive financial payout.

Echoing Shastri’s sentiments, MCC president Mark Nicholas said that while Tests are a league of their own, the sport required the bucks to sustain itself in the longer run.

“T20 cricket is the behemoth that everybody wants. It is where the new market is, where the fans are and where the money is,” Nicholas said.

The hue and cry around the death of Tests have been going on for a long time now, but it took a serious turn when New Zealand pacer Trent Boult gave up a central contract, saying that he wanted to spend more time with family and play more T20 leagues around the world.

A number of cricketers have followed the high-profile Boult, and even with the introduction of the World Test Championship, T20 leagues still look like the favoured genre of cricket for not just cricketers, who are earning big money, but also for the audience, who are provided more entertainment from a three-four hour-long game, rather than a five-day match.