It started with the test cricket so it obvious to revolve everything around it, old guard is still romantise the format and in layman terms it's considered real cricket, which comes with lots of respect that's why you see major players wants to play it.
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Obviously red ball cricket is romanticized. But I don't agree when you say that there is a lot of respect in playing test cricket and major players want to play it. Test cricket remains popular only among the generation that is over 40 years old. And even they watch it only when a major series, such as the Anderson-Tendulkar, Ashes or the Border-Gavaskar is scheduled. Players who prefer red ball cricket are very low in number, as most of them prioritize the franchise T20 leagues.
When I watch Test matches between teams like England, Australia, India and South Africa, I feel that there is a different kind of excitement in Test matches and the beauty of the cricketers is in the Test format, but when other countries outside these countries face each other and when they play Test cricket, I don't know why it is boring to watch the Test format. Currently, different countries are organizing T20 leagues, due to which cricketers from different countries are busy with T20 leagues most of the year, due to which Test cricket is not actually organized in that way, but ICC should take several steps in this regard so that Test cricket does not lose its popularity. I think that when a country organizes a bilateral series, the Test format should be made mandatory so that the future generation is also interested in this Test format. The most prestigious tournament in the Test format is the Test Championship, where one of the teams, Australia, England, South Africa or India, is always the champion, but if this format can be managed differently, maybe the new teams can do well there.