Don’t tinker with five-day Tests: Kohli

NEW DELHI: India skipper Virat Kohli said Test cricket should not be “tinkered” with and does not see it getting compressed to four days, as the International Cricket Council (ICC) mulls ways to prop up the sport’s traditional format.

“I cannot explain to you the job satisfaction that you get when you do well in Test cricket, because you know how demanding it is,” Kohli told ‘Wisden’.

“It’s the most beautiful format of the game. I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere. I don’t even see it getting compressed to four days.”

Asked if he looks at the proposed four-day Test matches as a backward step, India’s batting mainstay said, “Definitely. It should not be tinkered with.”

The increasing number of T20 leagues around the world has posed a threat to the traditional five-day format, with the ODIs close to facing an existential crisis. “In a few countries, yes. It all depends on the awareness of people who watch the game. If you take a country like South Africa or Australia or England, they have big crowds for Test matches because people understand the sport.

“It’s literally living life over five days. There are so many ups and downs and even when you’ve done well you’ve got to keep coming back and doing it all over again.

The ICC will introduce a nineteam two-year Test world championship in 2019, alongside a 13-team ODI league as well as trialling four-day matches.