A test match being played in front of sparse crowds.
By Rutvick Mehta
Cricket’s most traditional format—test cricket—is facing a crisis of survival as it is rapidly losing its popularity among people in India, especially youth.
The SoftCopy conducted a survey among 150 youngsters in Bangalore regarding the prominence and popularity of test cricket compared with the shorter formats of the game, like the T20s. The results were disappointing and rather alarming:
● Only 35 percent of the people watched the 2011 India-England test series.
● Only a meager 20 percent watched the 2011 India-West Indies series.
● Meanwhile, a whopping 80 percent watched the T20 Indian Premier League extravaganza this season.
Gangadhar.K.R, cricket coach of BGS International Residential School, who formerly coached at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, told The SoftCopy: “The trend is definitely changing with the youngsters. Many of them want the entire format of the game to be changed. People don’t have the patience to sit across for five days and watch a dull draw game being played.”
Even the players, who ideally should focus on developing the skills for the longer format of the game, have now shifted their attention to the more popular slam-bang cricket.
“For me, the 50-over format is more important than tests as I like hitting fours and sixes, which is why my game is not well suited for test cricket,” said Dhaval Patel, a cricketer from BGSIRS selected for the Karnataka State selection trials. “And frankly, even if you look at it from a career perspective, the shorter formats of the game are where the money and popularity lie.”
‘Test cricket is extremely boring’
For purists, nothing can beat the quality and charm of test cricket. Sadly, such people are few and far between. For an average viewer, test cricket is a yawn.
“I find test cricket extremely boring,” said Priyanka Ghosh, a journalism student in Bangalore. “I do not like it as the pace of the game is really slow—it goes on and on for five days.”
And almost validating the changing trend, she said that, for her, “IPL is cricket” as it is faster and much more exciting.
So, if this is what the popular belief is, empty stands and low viewership is hardly a surprise. The sight of near-empty stands in India’s test against Australia at Nagpur in November 2008 was a dark spot for the game because there were so many rich themes—Sourav Ganguly's last test, V.V.S Laxman's 100th test and the likely return of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to India.
Time to wake up
Many proposals have been put forward to revive the format of the game and bring back its charm, such as the proposed test championship between the top test-playing nations and day-night test matches. Sadly, these ideas remain on paper. The problem is the authorities are either oblivious of the situation or are just not concerned.
How about providing free tickets to students through various schools and colleges to get them to stadiums and witness the game in its purest form? Some state cricket bodies in India have started with this, and it is time the others do something similar. If not, it won’t be long before test cricket is played in front of deserted stadiums.
