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Why don't they absolutely get rid of the test format? I think it would be better for almost every team and also for the future of cricket. It is just a waste of time at this point. Even the Ashes series is not very interesting. I know there is going to be some protest if they absolutely get rid of test cricket. But I believe those people who will protest to keep test cricket as a format, won’t actually watch a test cricket match for the whole five days themselves.
Well... I think we have already discussed about it a few times. Test format for sure is not as popular as T20Is. But there is a significant section of the cricket fans who still want to watch test cricket. Even I watched the first Ashes test for a few hours yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the way Australia managed to win. But then, you can't ask the same players to participate in all the formats. That is why I have always argued for separate squads for test and limited overs format. Teams like India and Australia can do this (the Indian players don't want separate squads though). Those who can't form separate squads (such as Ireland and Sri Lanka) doesn't deserve to play test cricket.
If that is the case, then only probably the top four teams will be able to play test cricket. I don’t think there is any necessity for a different cricket format just for four countries to play. And my argument is that if people are only watching these four teams playing test cricket, either the other teams have to get better very quickly. Or there is no need for this format at all. I know a lot of people still watch test cricket. But that is a minority of the population that actually watches cricket. People don’t even watch one day international matches for seven hours now, let alone test cricket.