Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar came out strongly against the idea of four-day Test matches.
In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, the former India captain said that cricket’s longest format should be left as it is. “There is T20, there is one-dayers and then there are T10 and 100-ball cricket. Test is the purest form of cricket. It should not be tinkered with,” he said.
It was reported last week that the International Cricket Council is considering introducing four-day Test matches to ease up the crowded cricket calendar. On Saturday, Indian captain Virat Kohli had stated that he is not in favour of the idea and now he has got support from Tendulkar as well.
Tendulkar is of the opinion that four-day Tests will be disadvantageous for spinners. “Taking day five away from spinners is like denying fast bowlers day one,” he said.
“Spinners look forward to bowling with the scruffed ball, taking advantage on Day 5 of the roughs created on the wicket. All that is part of Test cricket. Is it fair to take that advantage away from spinners? Subcontinental teams, that have traditionally been good with spin, will be at a disadvantage. Which will be unfair.”
The 46-year-old, who played a record 200 Test matches, said that the ICC must focus on other measures to increase interest in red ball cricket. “The ICC, in my view, should focus on providing quality playing surfaces. Let the ball do things – spin, seam, swing, bounce. It will automatically liven-up a game. It will also throw up more results. Currently, there are far too many dead games,” he said.
Tendulkar said that reverse swing has become a rarity in One-Day Internationals because of the introduction of two new balls, and Test cricket could see spinners suffering if the fifth day is done away with.
“When did you last see a bowler using reverse swing in a one-day game? That skill is out of the limited overs format because now we use two new balls. For the ball to reverse swing, it needs to get soft,” he said.