Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has surprised everyone with his strong yet bold views on keeping Test cricket safe amid the growing franchise leagues across the world. He fears how modern sports are changing rapidly and pushing traditional formats into the background.
Modi described Test cricket as the purest form of the game and he wants the format to be saved for future generations as franchise leagues have almost killed this format.
Lalit Modi shares bold ideas to save Test cricket
He boldly claimed that One Day Internationals have already lost their charm and the format is no longer relevant in this modern era. The former IPL chairman also mentioned how only England and Australia are still giving proper respect to Test cricket.
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Lalit Modi told Michael Vaughan on The Overlap Cricket Podcast: “I hope Test cricket survives because I love that format. One-day Internationals are completely irrelevant. It doesn’t make any sense, mainly because T20 cricket is a very short format. It’s not about money anymore; it’s about whether you can maintain loyalty from the crowd.”
Modi said the younger generation is mostly preferring shorter format cricket, making it difficult for Test matches to attract large crowds over five days. He said that this generation is experiencing real Test cricket only in Australia and England.
Lalit Modi suggested four-day and day-night test; England and Australia praised for keeping Test cricket alive
He insisted that only England and Australia were “really keeping the standard of Test cricket alive” and that the rest of the world’s Test cricket was “dying” because of the Ashes and the English county season. To keep Test cricket attractive and competitive, the ICC introduced the World Test Championship (WTC), but Modi feels that it could not save the format.
The former IPL chairman believes that this gap between fans and Test cricket is gradually increasing and to deal with this he suggested four-day matches and that too should be played in day and night.
Modi further said, “People think I am crazy for suggesting this, but I care about it. I have been saying this since 2007: Tests should be converted into a four-day game and played day and night because today people do not have the luxury of spending four days sitting in the sun. Those were the good old days, when there was a television channel and Test cricket was rare. Now, with the media so easily accessible, every match around the world is available at the click of a button.”
IPL teams should own Test teams: Lalit Modi
The 62-year-old also floated a bold and controversial idea that IPL-style franchise teams should have Test teams to bring more interest, better financial support and stronger fan loyalty to the traditional format of the game.
Modi concluded by saying, “I will say something controversial – Test cricket can only survive if IPL teams have Test teams. I may get shot for saying this, but this is the first time I am saying it publicly. You have young players and more importantly, there is the loyalty factor.”
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