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ICC is set to hold talks with the top cricket boards over the possibility of introducing a two-tier model in Test cricket.
Australia won the BGT for the first time since 2014-15. (AP Photo)
Encouraged by the resounding success of the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, BCCI, Cricket Australia (CA) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are set to hold talks with the ICC chairman Jay Shah over the possibility of creating a separate top-flight division in Test cricket which would see the big three teams (India, Australia and England) play each other more frequently.
According to a report in The Age, Shah will be meeting CA chairman Mike Baird, ECB chairman Richard Thompson later in January to hold discussions over the diving Test cricket into two divisions.
“It comes down to profitable cricket versus unprofitable cricket,” the daily quoted an industry source as saying.
India’s tour of Australia for a five-Test series which the hosts won 3-1 reportedly drew record crowd to the various venues and reportedly has become the most watched Test series ever.
Currently, the likes of India, Australia and England play each other twice every four years but if the talks of splitting Test into two divisions fructify, the frequency could increase to twice every three years.
Additionally, it also puts the future of the ICC World Test Championship cycle in jeopardy which was introduced 2019 to provide context to the myriad bilateral tours.
However, any such model will only be implemented after 2027 when the next WTC cycle ends.
Recently, former India head coach Ravi Shastri also advocated for a two-tier system in Test cricket citing “too much of a clutter” in the scheduling.
“To break crowd records that have stood for nearly a century… is testimony to the fact that when the best teams play, the toughest and best format of the game is still alive and thriving,” he said in a column for The Australian newspaper.
“I will say that there’s too much of a clutter otherwise. This match further emphasises why we need a two-tier system with the top 6-8 teams and then include promotion and demotion. You will not get these kinds of crowds if you don’t have two proper teams playing,” he added.
This won’t be the first time that the top cricket administrators are mulling over such a move. A previous attempt to create a tier comprising the top seven Test nations and a second-tier that would include the next five was floated in 2016 but with the smaller nations registering their protests, the plan was shelved.
Interestingly, BCCI was among the cricket boards who were against the proposal.
