Virat Kohli doesn’t want Test cricket to be tinkered

His last two overseas Test series as the captain have been disappointing even though he himself finished as the highest scorer for India. But Virat Kohli’s love for the longest format of the game remains intact and he feels it should not be “tinkered” with and feels there is no reason to believe that it will be shortened to a four-day affair in the days to come since the International Cricket Council (ICC) is thinking over ways to promote it.

Kohli slammed 593 runs in five Tests this summer against England, hitting two centuries, to bury all the negative talks over his poor tour to the same country in 2014 when he managed less than 140 runs in 10 innings. Kohli completed 6,000 runs in Tests during the England series and is currently the ninth highest run-getter for India in this format with 23 centuries and at an impeccable average of 53.92.

Test cricket gives real job satisfaction

“I cannot explain to you the job satisfaction that you get when you do well in Test cricket, because you know how demanding it is. It’s the most beautiful format of the game. I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere. I don’t even see it getting compressed to four days,” the 29-year-old said while speaking to ‘Wisden’.

Kohli, who has been rested for the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE, said Test cricket should not be “tinkered with” when asked whether the idea of making Test matches a four-day affair was a backward step.

With T20Is turning cricket’s biggest draw, putting even ODIs in a crisis of survival, is Test cricket in a serious trouble? Kohli didn’t disagree.

“In a few countries, yes. It all depends on the awareness of people who watch the game. If you take a country like South Africa or Australia or England, they have big crowds for Test matches because people understand the sport. It’s literally living life over five days. There are so many ups and downs and even when you’ve done well you’ve got to keep coming back and doing it all over again,” he added.

The ICC is set to begin a two-year World Championship in Tests next year besides trialling four-day games. Last year, a four-day Test match was played between South Africa and Zimbabwe, annoying sentiments. However, the utility of the four-day format could not be assessed as the game got over inside two days.

Kohli, who backs the idea of Test championship, said it will help the format and make the series competitive. He also went on to say that he would look forward to the ups and downs throughout the championship, adding that countries that love Test cricket would also feel passionate about it.

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