Former England all-rounder Ian Botham has questioned India for reducing popularity of Test cricket among players and fans. He feels the money coming from the Indian Premier League (IPL) is a good news. However, he is unhappy with the status of five-day cricket in the sub-continent country.
The cash rich league is the most popular T20 tournament in the world. The success of IPL has led to the introduction of many such leagues in other parts of the world.
Many players have retired from international cricket for the sake of slam-bang competitions.
“Indians don’t watch Test cricket as their interest is in the Indian Premier League. The cricket board over there is making a lot of money through IPL. Test cricket has been around for 100 years and it is not going anywhere,” he told Mirror Sport.
“And if we lose Test cricket, then we will lose cricket as well. This sport will become meaningless. Every player should play Test cricket,” he added.
The 21-year-old Will Smeed in England has given up red-ball cricket and has signed a white-ball-only contract with Somerset to become the best limited-overs cricketer in the world.
Meanwhile, India will take on Australia in the upcoming four-match Test series.