Kevin Pietersen believes only five teams will play Test cricket by next decade

Veteran English cricketer Kevin Pietersen has made a bold prediction of the future of Test cricket. It is not a new debate for the cricket fans to talk about the longest format of the game. The sparse crowds and the dwindling interest in Test cricket matches have been a cause of concern for the critics and the cricket fans. If that was not enough, then the poor show by certain sides in Test matches has only added spice to the debate.

Amidst this backdrop, Kevin Pietersen has made a bold prediction about how the game will develop in the years to come. As per one of his latest tweets on the micro blogging site Twitter, only five teams will be left with playing the Test cricket by the next decade. KP did not give any justification about his claims though.

The five teams that he feels will continue to play the longest format of the game are India, England, Australia, South Africa, and Pakistan. Interestingly, all these five teams have held the number one ranking in the Test rankings at some stage or the other in the history of the game.

Here is what Kevin Pietersen tweeted:

“Here we go – in 10yrs the only cricket Test playing nations will be, England, SA, India, Pakistan & Australia. The rest will all be white ball cricketers! Just remember this tweet!,” Kevin Pietersen wrote in his tweet.

These claims actually seem to have a firm base. Albeit the ICC added Ireland and Afghanistan on the Test cricket roster, there are very few games assigned to both in the coming season. They are yet to make their Test debuts. Meanwhile, strong teams like New Zealand have had mixed fortunes in the longest format.

Consider the example of Sri Lanka, and the transition period seems to have taken a heavy toll on their fortunes in the Test cricket. Furthermore, the story is pretty much similar for the West Indies side. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have their perennial touring struggles as well.

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