Kohli backing gives Gower hope for Test cricket’s future

LONDON: The inexorable rise of Twenty20 cricket has sparked fears that the Test format is in serious jeopardy — but the longest form of the game has a powerful advocate in India captain Virat Kohli.

The popularity of quickfire T20 matches can be seen most starkly in the leagues, where players earn vast sums of money playing in front of packed houses.Tests by contrast — outside England and Australia — are often played in front of sparse crowds in big, echoing arenas.

But former England captain David Gower said comments made by Kohli, the world’s top-rated batsman, during India’s 4-1 Test series loss in England this year, are significant.“We had a fantastic series against India, closer than the margin suggests,” said Gower, one of the leading Test batsmen of his era, during the inaugural Ranji Memorial Public Conversation on Cricket in London.

“It is a reflection of the balance of power if Virat says that — you’ve got a lot of people who will listen,” explained Gower, who said the introduction of a World Test Championship from next year will help provide greater context for matches.

Kohli insisted Test cricket was the “most beautiful format of the game” despite the razzmatazz and hype around the shorter formats.Former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer said the Board of Control for Cricket in India had been “blinded” by Twenty20 to the detriment of an overall vision.

“India have been sort of blinded by the T20, the IPL,” said Engineer, speaking alongside Gower. “Your first priority is to play for your country and then the riches will come automatically.”

Engineer’s fellow panel member Mushtaq Mohammad said it was crucial to make Test cricket affordable and that spectators risked being priced out of the game. “If you want Test cricket to survive you’ve got to reduce the entrance fee. Open the gates, let the people come in, make it affordable.”

As for the recent innovation of day-night Tests, the former Pakistan batsman added: “In Southeast Asia we’ve got the right weather for day-night cricket but don’t reduce it (Test cricket).”Test cricket has also suffered a marked decline in the West Indies, who dominated Test cricket from the late 1970s until the early 1990s, playing with a crowd-pleasing swagger.