Kevin Pietersen suggests players should strive to compete in the longest format

Franchise league specialist, Kevin Pietersen, reckons that modern players should aim to compete in the longest format of the game.

With the introduction of T20 Cricket, there is a dip in following and viewership when it comes to red ball cricket. Crowds once flocked in to witness top teams compete in the five-day affairs.

Lately, there has been a dip in the crowds attending the matches in the stadium. The only format which guarantees a house-full stadium.

Furthermore, players lately are reluctant to feature in red-ball cricket. The likes of Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, and Reece Topley announced that they would not feature in the longest format this season. Instead, they chose to pen down limited-overs deals.

Earlier, the absence of stars such as AB de Villiers from the longest format of the game caused quite a hustle regarding the future of Test cricket.

Modern players sacrifice 5-day cricket to stay fit for franchise league cricket, which consists of lucrative deals. Test cricketer James Anderson also highlighted the bleak future of the red-ball format.

“Cricketers, just remember that when you take your whites off, your value decreases significantly. Owners still value Test cricket. The longer form shows true character! So if you have the chance to still play in whites, DO IT!,” tweeted Kevin Pietersen who is currently featuring the Pakistan Super League for the Quetta Gladiators.

However, in the recent times, matches have not sustained to all five days of Test cricket. Apart from that, Test cricket is more result oriented in the last 4-5 years, which eliminated the dead rubber games.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has taken an eternity to place the Test Championship featuring top four teams in the ICC rankings. Maybe the head of cricket should participate actively when it comes to survival of Test cricket.

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