‘Four day Test is nonsense’: Ravi Shastri slams new proposal for Test cricket
Ravi Shastri called the concept ‘nonsense’ and added that if they want to tamper with the format, the top six sides should not be included in the experiment
The cricketing world is split down the middle when it comes to the introduction of four-day Test matches with a number of former cricketers speaking out against the new proposal.
From Ian Botham to Sachin Tendulkar, legends of the sport have expressed their disapproval towards tinkering with the oldest format and Indian cricket team coach Ravi Shastri became the latest major name to join the list.
Shastri called the concept 'nonsense' and added that if they want to tamper with the format, the top six sides should not be included in the experiment.
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"Four day Test is nonsense. If this goes on we may have limited overs Tests. There is no need to tamper with five-day Tests. If at all they want to tamper then let the top six sides play five-day Tests and the next six be allowed to play four-day Tests. If you want preserve Tests then let the top six play more against each other. You have the shorter format to popularise the game," Shastri said in an interview with CNN News18.
Shastri also called day-night Test matches a work in progress and asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to get the ball right."Day-night Test is still under test. I still feel that pink ball does not give any advantage to spinners, they need to get the ball right for day night. During the day you have full Tests, by night it looks like half Test.
"I still feel that you will get more people to watch Tests if you have the top six play each other (more often)."
Shastri also provided a major update about former skipper MS Dhoni's career. Shastri believes that considering the age of Dhoni, he is best suited to the shortest format of the game and he revealed that they had a discussion regarding his future in the Indian team, but the same could not be made public.
"We had a conversation but that's between me and MS, that's in the dressing room. What I feel is which people must respect is he's played non-stop in all formats of the game for a while. He's finished playing Test match, and in all probability, he'll finish one-day cricket. At his age, probably the only format he'll want to play is T20 cricket which means he'll have to start playing again, get back into the grooves because he's going to play in the IPL and see how his body reacts,"
