Test cricket is losing its place in a sport increasingly dominated by T20 leagues, and former Sri Lanka fast bowler Chaminda Vaas believes cricket boards must act before it is too late. Vaas, who played 111 Tests and claimed 355 wickets in his career, accepts that T20 cricket is likely to be the biggest format in the future. But he wants administrators to protect Test and one-day cricket, which he believes remain important for developing players and testing their skills.
“I think in the future, most of the countries want to play T20s. T20 is the game for the future. But all the boards should realise that Test cricket and one-day cricket are the pioneers and they should preserve those two formats,” Vaas told PTI. The former Sri Lanka pacer made the comments amid a growing debate over the future of bilateral cricket and the increasing importance of franchise-based T20 leagues. Vaas, who took 400 wickets in ODIs and 355 in Tests, said cricket boards need to work together to protect the traditional formats.
“We need to have some sort of arrangement to keep the 50-over cricket alive. I'm sure it will get a lot of young cricketers to play either Test cricket or 50-over format. But especially when it comes to Test cricket, Test cricket is dying. All the boards should have a plan to keep Test cricket alive and give a lot of youngsters the exposure to that format because it is where your skill will be really tested,” he said.
Vaas pointed to Sri Lanka's recent decline in Test cricket as an example of what can happen when a team does not play enough red-ball cricket. Sri Lanka suffered a 165-run defeat against India in the first Test at Galle, a venue that was once considered one of the team's strongest home grounds. Vaas, however, praised India for their performance.
“We know India is a very good side, they can replace any player at any given point. They have been playing good cricket across Test, T20 and ODIs, and the BCCI has built some excellent infrastructure and taken care of their players. “If you look at Galle, they played excellent Test cricket. They fielded three very good spinners and it was not easy to survive against them. Our guys gave a good fight. I'm sure that the second Test will be a more interesting one,” he said. But he believes the defeat is also linked to a bigger problem - Sri Lanka simply does not play enough Tests.
Vaas said Sri Lanka needs to play more red-ball cricket if it wants to produce players who can succeed at Test level. “Unfortunately, we don't get a lot of Test matches. The Sri Lankan cricket board should do something, try to get more Tests. You know, this two-match Test series does not really benefit the players, they need more red-ball matches at the highest level,” he said.
He believes playing only a small number of Tests makes it harder for young players to develop the skills required at the highest level.
The former pacer also said players need to understand which format suits their game. “There are players who can play all versions — Test cricket, one-day and T20. But some other players can only play white ball. So, we need to identify those players and even the players should realise which format they are going to play and be comfortable with. But for me, Test cricket is the real skill. You need to have that skill to play in the middle. So whatever the format they choose, they do the right thing and should focus on the basics,” he said.
