Published on Oct 29
GUWAHATI: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes Test cricket will continue to thrive among major cricket-playing nations despite the growing popularity of white-ball formats.
The legendary cricketer was in Guwahati on Wednesday to attend a kit distribution ceremony organised by Topcem Cement for various schools. On the sidelines of the event, the former India opener interacted with the media and shared his views on the future of Test cricket and ways to strengthen India’s domestic circuit.
On the future of the longest format, Gavaskar said Test cricket would remain relevant, although not every country might continue to play it.
“The major countries will continue to play Test cricket,” he said, adding that the ICC World Test Championship had given greater context to every match and made the format more competitive.
He explained that the points system encourages teams to fight for victory in every Test, even after securing a series win. He also noted that Test matches nowadays produce more results, making the format more interesting for spectators.
Gavaskar expects major cricketing nations, including India, England and Australia, to continue playing five-Test series, underlining the enduring importance of the traditional format.
The former India captain also stressed the need for more international players to participate in domestic competitions, saying their presence would improve the quality of domestic cricket and benefit state-level players.
Gavaskar, who is also the brand ambassador of Topcem Cement, pointed out that young batters and bowlers could be properly assessed only when they competed against the country's best players. He said performances in domestic cricket would provide a more accurate measure of a player's potential when tested against top-level opposition.
To make this possible, Gavaskar suggested setting aside six to eight weeks in the cricket calendar exclusively for domestic competitions, with no international matches scheduled during that period. Such a window, he said, would allow leading Indian players to feature in tournaments such as the Ranji Trophy and domestic white-ball competitions.