Rohit Sharma Has The Best Response To ICC's Idea Of Four-Day Test
Published - 09 Jan 2020, 12:35 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:03 AM
With a lot being said and heard about the four-day Test, India star Rohit Sharma has also given his opinion on the same. ICC’s idea of curtailing the oldest format of the game has met with widespread opposition. The governing body of the game has stated that four-day Test matches could become mandatory as part of the World Test Championship from 2023.
The ICC is likely to consider four-day Test cricket later in 2020 in order to free up calendar that is filled with too many games and T20 leagues across the world. However, their proposal has not gone well so far. A number of leading Test cricketers have opposed the idea. India captain Virat Kohli, England’s vice-captain Ben Stokes and Australia’s captain Tim Paine have led the opposition to four-day Tests.
And Rohit Sharma has also echoed the same sentiments. The India star, who was recently promoted as an opener in the longest format of the game, came up with a brilliant respond, saying that four-day game is not a Test match but a first-class match.
“If it is a four-day, it is not a Test match. Four-day means a first-class match. It is as simple as that,” Rohit Sharma was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, is currently on a break and is thus not a part of the ongoing T20I series against Sri Lanka. He will return to action when India take on Australia in the three-match ODI series later this month. Following the ODI series, India will fly out to New Zealand for a full-fledged series.
Virat on four-day Test:
Earlier, Virat Kohli had also opposed the idea of four-day Tests. The world number one Test batsman opined that tinkering too much with Test cricket will have an adverse effect on the health of the format. He clearly stated that he does not endorse the idea of four-day Test at all.
“Four-day Tests? Look, I’m not a fan of [it],” Kohli said last week. “I think the intent will not be right then because then you will speak of three-day Tests, where do you end? Then you speak of Test cricket disappearing. I don’t endorse that at all.
“I don’t think that’s fair to the purest format of the game – how cricket started initially and five-day Test matches was the highest of tests you can have at the international level. According to me, it shouldn’t be altered.”
