Test cricket not dead

Just because the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a huge hit, both in India as well as South Africa, cricket experts should not read too much into it and start writing obituaries about test cricket, says our writer. Read on to find out why...

CJ: Chinmay Chakravarty

Fri, May 22, 2009 12:45:43 IST

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Cricket Sports News :

THIS IS like the age old debate of form versus content. Cricket is the ‘content’, while tests, one day internationals (ODIs), and T20 matches, are the ‘forms’. One cannot totally replace the other; as long as the content remains, forms are bound to exist.

Cricket is also like Indian music. Test cricket, which spreads over five days, may be compared to the expanded rhythm pattern adopted in a ‘vilambit khayal’, wherein you are slowly and steadily taken into the innermost charms of a ‘raga’ of Indian classical music. ODIs are like light classical compositions, wherein a faster rhythm pattern gives you quicker results. T20 is simple, light music, wherein a booming rhythm gives you instant gratification.

There is another striking similarity between Indian classical music and cricket. Artistes trained in the classical tradition can fit into any form of music, as they have learned the basics exhaustively. When we take into account the cases of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, VVs Laxman, Jacques Kallis, and many other test players who have successfully adopted the T20 format, we confront the obvious – test cricketers can adapt to any form of the game since they have learned the basics to the T.

It is not a conflict between purists and modernists; we cannot expect everyone to love all forms. Articles or books are written for the targeted readers, movies are made for the targeted viewers, and paintings are made for the supposedly connoisseur admirers. Further, as long as the ‘content’ remains, cricket is bound to produce riveting and suspenseful moments, irrespective of the ‘forms’.

We remember the evergreen tests which have been played since the last hundred odd years; we relish the nail-biting test finishes and the rare ‘tied’ tests, and the Ashes series between England and Australia is always eagerly awaited. Meanwhile, not all ODIs are interesting, and one-sided IPL matches are big bores.

So, who says test cricket is dying?

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