Hyderabad: With new changes being made to the different formats in cricket to give them more context, Test cricket might go underneath one more change in the coming years. Test cricket has already become result-oriented with the introduction of the World Test Championship. Now, the format is set to be split into two divisions according to a report by The Age.
Australia, England, and India are in talks with International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah so that the big three can play each other more often. A meeting will be held between Shah, Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird and England Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson later this montḥ. A two-tier structure for Test cricket will be on the agenda of the meeting.
🚨 INDIA, AUSTRALIA AND ENGLAND TO PLAY EACH OTHER OFTEN. 🚨
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 6, 2025
- Jay Shah, Cricket Australia and ECB are in talks to split Test cricket into two divisions so the big 3 nations can play each other more often. (The Age). pic.twitter.com/6GrBOVJ1Vw
The recently concluded Test series between India and Australia enjoyed an impressive amount of viewership. Reportedly, the viewership for the first two Tests saw a 55 % rise as compared to 2020/21.
The plans for the two-tier Test structure will kick in only after the end of the current Future Tours Program in 2027.
Many former cricketers have advocated the idea of the best teams playing against each other in Test cricket. Former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri also echoed the same sentiment during the SCG Test recently.
“I’ve been a firm believer in that if you want Test cricket to survive and be alive and thriving, I think that’s the way to go. The top teams play against each other more often, so there is a contest; you want contests,” Shastri said on SEN during the SCG Test.
