Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar had recently said Test cricket has fallen down in the priority order after T20s and ODIs. His comments came after 23 wickets fell on the opening day of the 2nd Test between India and South Africa earlier this week as he blamed batters for not having the patience and right technique to deal with the challenges of the longest format.
With South Africa naming a vastly depleted squad for their next month’s Test tour of New Zealand followed by how batters fared in Cape Town, several former cricketers spelled the death knell of the format in wake of rising popularity of T20 leagues.
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South Africa legend AB de Villiers isn’t happy that the India vs South Africa Test series comprised just two matches and he blames the absence of what would have become the decider on T20 cricket.
“I am not happy that there is not a third Test. You have to blame the T20 cricket going around the world for that,” De Villiers on his YouTube channel.
“I do not know whom to blame, but I sense something is wrong. If you want to see all the teams compete and see who is the best Test team in the world, something has to change,” he added.
All the first-choice Test stars of South African team will be playing in the second season of SA20 starting January 10 and since its schedule clashes with that of New Zealand Test series, the tourists will be fielding a third-string team.
“It has sent shockwaves around the cricketing world and has made it clear that Test cricket is under pressure, for that matter even ODI cricket and the whole system is turning around T20 cricket,” De Villiers said on South Africa’s Test squad for the New Zealand tour.
“The players, the board and coaches will turn towards where there is more money. You cannot blame them for thinking about their future with their family,” he added.
The Cape Town Test ended inside two days with the batters from either side unable to cope up with the bounce and lateral movement which the pitch offered the pacers. However, De Villiers claims the pitch was pretty standard to how it has fared historically.
“It (Cape Town) was a pretty stock-standard wicket, in my opinion. I remember jumping around there on Day 1. If you can just get through the first session on Day 1, it gets easier. If you see the players playing their shots and not hanging around, they were doing well. I remember Ben Stokes scoring a double hundred there. I scored some hundreds there,” De Villiers said.
“You cannot allow bowlers like Vernon Philander, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada to keep bowling on off-stump,” he added.
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