Aakash Chopra took on the suggestion forwarded by former India coach Ravi Shastri who had opined that Test cricket should only be played by the cream of the crop.
Alex Lees of England in action against India. (Courtesy: Reuters)
HIGHLIGHTS
Players have questioned the sustainability of playing all three formats
England Test captain Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket to focus on Tests
Chopra rubbished Shastri’s suggestions
Former India player Aakash Chopra has rubbished former head coach Ravi Shatri’s suggestion that only the cream of the crop should be playing Test cricket. Shastri’s suggestions were aimed at making Test cricket only about top quality, instead of an inclusive approach which will have all teams can participating in the format.
Chopra did not agree to the school of Shastri’s thought and said that world cricket would be in trouble if Test cricket was only played by a select few nations.
“Test cricket can happen in tiers but if only the top six play Test cricket, I feel world cricket will be in trouble, including Test cricket, which all of us are saying is a very important format and will not go anywhere,” Chopra said in his YouTube channel.
“Who will decide the six countries, the top six in the rankings? Let’s say that’s the case, what will the others do? He (Shastri) said in the discussion that if you go out of the six, then you have no job and teams will come up from below. But who will come up from below because only six are playing Test cricket and the others are not playing at all,” he further added.
Speaking about the survivability of the ODI format, Chopra said that he does not agree to the suggestions about playing the 50-over format only in ICC events.
“If you don’t play ODI cricket at all and play only World Cup to World Cup, then why do you play it at all? Why are you carrying it? Leave it, don’t play, it’s absolutely fine. The World Cup should be in that format in which you play cricket between the two World Cups,” he concluded.
World cricket would be in trouble if only top 6 play Test cricket: Aakash Chopra rubbishes Shastri’s suggestion
Aakash Chopra took on the suggestion forwarded by former India coach Ravi Shastri who had opined that Test cricket should only be played by the cream of the crop.
Alex Lees of England in action against India. (Courtesy: Reuters)
HIGHLIGHTS
Former India player Aakash Chopra has rubbished former head coach Ravi Shatri’s suggestion that only the cream of the crop should be playing Test cricket. Shastri’s suggestions were aimed at making Test cricket only about top quality, instead of an inclusive approach which will have all teams can participating in the format.
Chopra did not agree to the school of Shastri’s thought and said that world cricket would be in trouble if Test cricket was only played by a select few nations.
“Test cricket can happen in tiers but if only the top six play Test cricket, I feel world cricket will be in trouble, including Test cricket, which all of us are saying is a very important format and will not go anywhere,” Chopra said in his YouTube channel.
“Who will decide the six countries, the top six in the rankings? Let’s say that’s the case, what will the others do? He (Shastri) said in the discussion that if you go out of the six, then you have no job and teams will come up from below. But who will come up from below because only six are playing Test cricket and the others are not playing at all,” he further added.
Speaking about the survivability of the ODI format, Chopra said that he does not agree to the suggestions about playing the 50-over format only in ICC events.
“If you don’t play ODI cricket at all and play only World Cup to World Cup, then why do you play it at all? Why are you carrying it? Leave it, don’t play, it’s absolutely fine. The World Cup should be in that format in which you play cricket between the two World Cups,” he concluded.
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