Asian greats hail T20 to spice Test batting.
Image : Collected
|| CF Correspondent ||
Twenty20 cricket made modern Test batting more thrilling than the past as Asian cricket greats like Rahul Dravid, Arjuna Ranatunga and Habibul Bashar said over the matter.
Former Indian skipper and batting great Rahul Dravid has said that the smashing batting style of Twenty20 and events like Indian Premier League (IPL) has made Test batting more exciting.
“Actually I believe Test batsmanship is a lot more exciting, a lot more positive now than ever,” Rahul Dravid said.
“People are playing more shots even in Test cricket which is great,” Dravid said in video chat with fellow Indian Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo.
Popularly known as The Wall of Cricket for his defensive prowess, Dravid played 164 Tests averaging 52.31 from 1996 to 2012. He said that he would not have survived today if he batted the way he did in his ways.
“Of course, I wouldn’t have survived today if I batted the way I did in my days. Look at the strike rates today. One of the great things for India is that Virat Kohli values Test cricket so much. Players like Virat have shown how one can excel in all three formats,” Dravid opined.
“Obviously I can’t compare myself to Kohli or Rohit Sharma because they have blown the ODI paradigm to an all new level,” Dravid, who had a strike rate of 42.51 in Tests and 71.23 in ODIs added.
However, former Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga echoed the sentiment, too. Ranatunga gave credit to the limited-overs cricket for adding aggression to Test batting.
“Let’s say 10 or more years ago, batsmen in Test matches waited for the perfect loose ball to hit, but today when they see a half-good delivery they go for a shot,” said Arjun Ranatunga, whose captaincy Sri Lanka had triumphed the coveted World Cup trophy in 1996.
Ranatunga had an average over 35 in both Test and ODIs between 1982 and 2000, also said that Test is more satisfying for him.
“Test cricket is like a meal made by mother, prepared with a lot of love, care and patience -- wholesome food. T20 is like instant noodles,” he told the media.
Yet, former Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar Sumon joined them, stating that Twenty20-style batting and flat wickets have changed the mindset of the players to add glut of runs in the Test.
“In the past, the teams were satisfied with (scoring) 150 to 200 runs per day, now teams want at least 300. This is why we were seeing more results in Tests,” Habibul Bashar said.
“Another reason is flat wickets; rarely do we see green-top wickets. The biggest reason is of course more limited-over matches,” Sumon concluded.
