Sahstri reluctant to play against the likes of Bangladesh
India head-coach Ravi Shastri thinks that the top five Test sides should favor playing against each other more than playing against the team at the bottom-half of the Test ranking.
He said, “We should’ve been careful. It was important that how were we going to support Test cricket. In some cases, you have to think about an appropriate bilateral series that will bring the spectators back. You have to consider both top and bottom teams. Ten teams can be in the same group but the top five have to play against each other for the sake of the survival of Test cricket.”
According to him, encouraging the bottom five teams have positive impacts but the top teams should play fewer matches against them in order to satisfy the preferences of the audiences.
“You can encourage those five teams [at the bottom] but there should be fewer matches organized against them because you have to think about the viewers. Think about India for instance. You can see any of the matches there from any corner of the world. There’s cricket going on for 24 hours,” he explained.
Shastri was hopeful about the future of day-night Test. The former Indian cricketer wants the profits from IPL to be used in the development of Test cricket and first-class cricket.
He stated, “IPL attracts spectators the most but the money earned from it should be utilized to develop Test cricket and first-class cricket. This is what I believe and I can see the possibilities of four-day Tests as well.”
