Sachin Tendulkar

Test cricket

International Cricket Council

Harbhajan Singh

Anil Kumble

Four-day test:weighs inBatting legend and former India captain Sachin Tendulkar has trashed the idea of four-day Test matches, saying he worries that cricket is being dragged in the wrong direction.Talking exclusively with Mumbai Mirror on Saturday evening, Sachin, who holds the record of scoring the most number of Test centuries (51), said taking Day 5 of Test away from spinners would be akin to not allowing fast bowlers to bowl on Day 1.“Spinners look forward to bowling with the scruffed ball, taking advantage on Day 5 of the roughs created on the wicket. All that is part of. Is it fair to take that advantage away from spinners?” he asked.Sachin said that cricket has already seen many changes, all to attract new spectators. “There is T20, there is one-dayers and then there are T10 and 100-ball cricket. Test is the purest form of cricket. It should not be tinkered with,” he said.Sachin, who began playing international cricket when one-dayers were still a recent phenomenon, said everything cannot be sacrificed at the altar of making the game attractive for the new generation. “When did you last see a bowler using reverse swing in a one-day game? That skill is out of the limited overs format because now we use two new balls. For the ball to reverse swing, it needs to get soft,” he said, adding that similarly spin will go out if the 4-day format is introduced.Sachin said that while teams that lack quality spin attacks will love a four-day Test, those with good spinners will suffer. “Subcontinental teams, that have traditionally been good with spin, will be at a disadvantage. Which will be unfair,” he said.The man, who for much of his career was a feared hitter of the ball, said that while he understands the’s (ICC) desire to liven up things on a cricket ground, shortening every format is not the only solution. “The ICC, in my view, should focus on providing quality playing surfaces. Let the ball do things – spin, seam, swing, bounce. It will automatically liven-up a game. It will also throw up more results. Currently, there are far too many dead games,” he said.Sachin said he hopes spinners likeandinitiate informed discussions around the proposed four-day format at all levels. Kumble is the ICC Cricket Committee chairman and will initiate the discussion on the proposed format at ICC. “This is one thing that he cannot be supportive of,” said Sachin.