Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag voiced his opinion in favor of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri of supporting five-day Test matches over ICC’s proposal to reduced the longest format to four days to draw more eyeballs. Sehwag compared the five-day Tests to baby diapers, saying both should be changed only when it becomes completely redundant.

While delivering the seventh Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi Lecture at the BCCI Awards in Mumbai, Shewag said, “I have always supported the change. I captained India in its first T20 game and I am proud of that. I was also part of India’s World T20 winning team in 2007. But five-day Test cricket is romance.”

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He further added, “Innovations like names in jerseys and pink ball Tests are fine. But diaper and five-day Tests should only be changed when it’s finished when it can’t be used anymore. The five-day Test is not finished. Test cricket is a 143-year old fit person. It has a soul. ‘Char din ki Sirf chandni hi hoti hai…Test cricket nahin’ (four days of the moon is fine, not Test cricket).”

The ICC Cricket Committee will be discussing the idea of four-day Test matches, but seeing the current turn of events, in all likelihood, get a red flag from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as the Indian board is set to stand with Kohli and Shastri. Both the captain and the head coach have clarified their stands of no tinkering the traditional format anymore. 

A BCCI official had told IANS that the board will discuss the matter with Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

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The official had said, “See, it is only right that you discuss these matters and we will do the same with CA, ECB, and Cricket South Africa. But as things stand now, we are on the same platform as our skipper and coach and don’t see much sense in cutting Test cricket to four days from the conventional five. In fact, it is not just our captain or coach, you have also heard the likes of Joe Root and Faf du Plessis make their opinions clear on the matter. It might be an option for the lower ranked teams, but not when two big teams clash.”