Former India Coach Shastri Advocates for a Two Tier Test Structure After MCG Epic
Former India coach Ravi Shastri has called for a two-tier structure in Test cricket, complete with relegation and promotion, to ensure the format's long-term survival.
After the extremely exciting fourth test match between India and Australia, he shared his thoughts. The match was of significant consequence because over five days, a large number of 373,691 fans showed up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, breaking the old record. In the 1936-37 Ashes series, also at the same location, they set the old record with 350,534 people when games lasted six days and Donald Bradman, the cricket superstar, was the best at the sport.
Shastri, who's now a commentator, said he's never seen anything that sold Test cricket better. He noted how the large crowd that turned up shows people still really like five day cricket, even though T20 leagues are getting more popular but he also repeated that if Test cricket wants to keep doing well, the best teams must play against each other a lot more often.
He wrote in a piece for The Australian newspaper about how conjoining nearly century old crowd records shows that Test cricket is still wonderful and matters when the top teams compete directly against each other. He also said it sends a big clue to the International Cricket Council (ICC) that to make sure the game stays popular, the best teams need to play each other more.
Shastri mentioned there's a lot of unnecessary content in the system now, and having a system with two levels for the top 6-8 teams would keep the game very focused on winning. He said that games between the best teams are important for getting people to watch. If we don't have those games, he thinks that test cricket might not do so well anymore.
For years, the ICC thought about having a two-tier system but it never actually happened. In 2016, they even thought about making a really special league with the seven best teams but they had to ditch the idea because the Indian board which is very strong didn't like it. The BCCI was worried that states with less money for cricket would have a tough time if it went ahead.
"Shastri shared his thoughts on the heated discussion on if Test matches should drop a day and only last four days. He stood firm on keeping Test matches five days long, using the Melbourne Test to show why it's crucial". He mentioned, "The struggle on day five showed why we need five days for a classic Test match, in his column. Shastri highlighted that without introducing a two-tier system, we'll still see mismatched teams in Test cricket, making exciting five-day games less common".
Australia won the match by 184 runs on the final day and now lead the series 2-1 and the final Test scheduled in Sydney on 2nd is Pink Test.