Test cricket is dying: ICC chairman

International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Shashank Manohar, who arrived in Dhaka on February 6 for a three-day visit, said that the ICC Test Championship was an initiative aimed at generating interest for Test cricket because, according to him, the format was dying.

On the second day of his visit to Dhaka, the ICC chairman met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina before attending a reception held in his honour by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). He gave a press conference today, where he talked about the shortest and the longest form of the game.

He emphasised the commercial lucrativeness of T20 cricket, saying that it generated more interest among the fans.

"If you look at the TRPs [Television Rating Points] of the broadcasters, T20 has the maximum TRP. It is because of being the shorter version of the game. Nowadays, people don't have five days' time to watch a Test match," he opined.

He said that the short duration makes it more attractive and therefore it is gaining in popularity around the world. "T20s get over in 3.5 hours, like watching a movie. Therefore, it is picking up very fast," he commented.

He did not give any particular reason for why he felt Test cricket was dying but given that T20s were being watched more, it was hard to overlook the underlying reasoning being anything other than the fact that Test matches take longer to be played.

"We are trying to see whether the Test championship can generate interest, because Test cricket is actually dying, to be honest. So, to improve the situation, we are trying ways and means. The board directors came to a conclusion that if we start a Test championship, it would keep Test cricket alive and generate more interest in the game," he remarked about ICC's move to introduce the Test Championship.

While a Test championship will generate interest, ICC's 'ways and means' and what constitutes a good Test match, remain unexplained. Quite recently, the Perth pitch which gave way to a brilliant Test match between Australia and India was rated average by Sri Lanka match referee Ranjan Madugalle -- a decision slammed by past Test greats.

Sachin Tendulkar said that it was the kind of wicket that can revive Test cricket. Given that there have been recent Test matches which were played in a way that truly 'tested' the cricketers, it remains to be seen what ICC can do to help a format that does not provide the instant gratification of T20 cricket.

Test championship still sounds like a fine idea but what Test cricket is 'dying from' might also need some pondering upon.