JOHANASBURG: The fact that India and South Africa only engaged in a two-match Test series has irritated former South African captain AB de Villiers, who attributes the situation to the growth of T20 leagues.
India and South Africa shared the honours, with the visitors winning the second Test by seven wickets after the hosts won the first Test at Centurion by an innings and 32 runs.
De Villiers argued that in order to determine which team is the best in the world, “something has to change” and he supported extended Test series.
“That there isn’t a third test makes me unhappy. He stated on his YouTube channel, “You have to hold the global T20 cricket competitions responsible for it. “I feel like something is off, but I’m not sure who to blame. Something needs to change if you want to watch all the teams battle it out to determine which Test squad is the greatest in the world.”
In February, South Africa will again visit New Zealand for a two-Test series. Due to a conflict with the SA20, there were questions raised when Cricket South Africa (CSA) released a second-string squad for the series that included seven uncapped players. The captaincy has been awarded to Neil Brand, who has not yet made his Test debut.
According to De Villiers, there is pressure on Test cricket since players and coaches would prefer to compete in very lucrative events rather than play the five-day format.
“It (South Africa’s Test team against New Zealand) has sent shockwaves across the cricketing globe and demonstrated that ODI and Test cricket alike are under pressure, and that T20 cricket as a whole is being turned around by the system.
“Wherever there is more money, the coaches, players, and board will go. It is understandable that they are considering their future with their family.”
After the contest finished in less than two days, the quickest in Test cricket history, the surface for the second India-South Africa Test came under intense examination.
“In my perspective, the wicket was really ordinary. On the first day, I remember jumping around there,” he recalled. “It gets easier if you can simply make it through the first session on the first day. The players were succeeding if you could see them making their shots and moving on. It was there when Ben Stokes scored a double-hundred. There, I scored a few hundreds.
“You cannot allow bowlers like Vernon Philander, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada to keep bowling on off stump.”
