Get shot: Lalit Modi suggests bold ideas to IPL franchise to keep Test cricket alive

Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has turned heads with his strong yet bold ideas on how to protect Test cricket amidst the growing franchise leagues around the world. He fears how modern games are changing fast and pushing traditional formats into the background.

Modi called Test cricket the purest form of the game, and he wants this format to be saved for future generations because the franchise leagues have almost overshadowed the format.

Lalit Modi shares bold ideas to save Test Cricket

He boldly claimed that the one-day internationals have already lost much of their charm and this format is not relevant in this modern era. The former IPL chairman also mentioned how only England and Australia are still giving proper respect to Test cricket.

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Lalit Modi told Michael Vaughan on The Overlap Cricket podcast: “I hope Test cricket survives because I love the format. One-day internationals are completely irrelevant. It makes no sense, mainly because there is an ever-shorter format in T20 cricket. It's not about the money anymore; it's about whether you can sustain loyalty from the crowd.”

Modi said the younger generation is mostly following short-format cricket, which is making it difficult for Test matches to attract big crowds over five days. He added that this generation is only experiencing real Test cricket in Australia and England.

Lalit Modi suggests Four-Day and Day-Night Tests; hails England and Australia for keeping Test cricket alive

He stressed that only England and Australia are “actually keeping the standard of Test cricket alive” because of the Ashes and the English county season and the rest of the world's Test cricket is "dying." To keep Test cricket engaging and competitive, the ICC introduced the World Test Championship (WTC), but Modi feels this could not save the format.

The former IPL chairman feels this gap between fans and Test cricket is slowly increasing, and to deal with this, he suggested the four-day matches and that too played in day and nights.

Modi continued, “People think I'm crazy to suggest this, but I care about it. I've been saying this since 2007: Tests should be turned into a four-day game and played day and night because people today don't have the luxury to spend four days sitting in the sun. Those were the good old days, when there was one television channel and Test cricket was rare. Now, with media so easily accessible, every match around the world is available at the click of a button.”

IPL teams should own Test teams: Lalit Modi

The 62-year-old also gave a bold and controversial idea that IPL-style franchise teams should own Test sides to bring more interest, better financial support, and stronger fan loyalty to the traditional format of the game.

Modi signed off by saying, “I'll say something controversial—the only way Test cricket can survive is if IPL teams own Test teams. I might get shot for saying this, but it's the first time I'm saying it publicly. You have the youngsters and, more importantly, the loyalty factor.”

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