Bangladesh`s Mushfiqur Rahim plays a shot during the third day of the first Test cricket match of a two-match series between India and Bangladesh at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on 16 November 2019. Photo: AFP
Like many more international cricket stars, Bangladesh former captain Mushfiqur Rahim is also not a fan of proposed four-day Tests. The right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman said that he doesn’t like the idea of four-day Test, reports news agency UNB.“There’s no question of shrinking Tests to four days, I don’t like it. I agree with those who have been supporting five-day Tests. To be honest, I want to play Test cricket for five, six, seven days or as much as I can. I don’t think it should be changed to four days,” Mushfiqur said while interacting with the media after the final of Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday.
“We’ve noticed many Tests ended after the Tea of the fifth day. There will be no chance of it if we start four-day Tests. Test cricket should always be a five-day format,” he added.
Before Mushfiqur, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon and Indian captain Virat Kohli were among the international stars who opposed the idea.
Lyon said he is not a fan of the idea of four-day Tests. “Five days are the ultimate Tests. We’ve gone through a rare period where we have been able to win Tests in four days. But it’s quite rare. We may not have seen the results we saw in England (during the 2019 Ashes) without the extra day. It plays a lot with the wicket and brings spin into play, so I would like to see it stay as five days,” the Guardian quoted Lyon as saying.
Indian captain Virat Kohli said the intent of the idea of four-day Test will not be right because after a certain time people might start to come up with the idea of three-day Tests.
“I think the intent will not be right then because you will then speak of three-day Tests. Where do you end? Then you will speak of Test cricket disappearing. I don’t think that’s fair to the purest format of the game. How cricket started initially, five-day Test matches were the highest test you can have at international level. It shouldn’t be altered,” as Indian captain was quoted by the BBC.
