‘Let IPL franchises own Test teams’: Lalit Modi’s bold suggestion to save ‘dying’ Test cricket

LONDON: Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi has proposed a bold measure to save the “dying” Test cricket, suggesting that the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises could own the Test teams and attract youngsters to the game to save the longest format of the game from facing further decline.

Lalit Modi, speaking on The Overlap Podcast with former England cricketer Michael Vaughan, suggested that to keep Test cricket alive, IPL franchises could own Test teams and play exhibition matches to engage younger audiences. However, he stressed that international, country-versus-country cricket should remain the top priority.

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“The only way Test cricket will work, somebody’s going to shoot me for saying this. First time I’m saying this. Let the IPL teams own Test cricket teams. You got the youngsters, you got the loyalty factors. You play your country versus country, without doubt, that’s premier. I’m saying you have it as a world championship that goes around the world every year, you play those without doubt, but also so that it doesn’t disappear, you have exhibition matches starting off with it–teams playing test cricket. At least play one in a season between each other just to get their youngsters back into the game. That’s going to be like club cricket. You have club cricket in everything. But the primary has to be country versus country,” Lalit Modi said.

He said building loyalty among young fans requires engaging them early and providing them with a strong, enjoyable cricket experience. “And if you want to build loyalty with the youngsters, you got to catch them young and you’ve got to give them the experience.”

Lalit Modi expressed hope that Test cricket survives, but said he believes it is in decline globally. He said only Australia and England are maintaining a strong interest in the format through events like the Ashes, while Test cricket is “dying” in other parts of the world.

“I hope Test cricket survives because I love Test cricket. You look at the generation that is growing up now. Unfortunately, they are not experiencing it anywhere else except in Australia and England. These are the only two countries that are actually keeping the level of Test up because of the Ashes and because of the English season, and you have the advantage of that, but the rest of the world, Test is dying,” he said.

Modi also recommended that five-day Test matches be trimmed to four-day day-night affairs. “Now people think I’m crazy to suggest this, but I care about it, and my suggestion has always been, and since 2007, I’ve been saying this: Tests should turn into a four-day game, it should be day and night,” he said.

Modi further argued that modern audiences lack the time and patience for long, traditional Test matches, unlike in earlier eras when cricket was less accessible and viewing options were limited.

“People don’t have the luxury today to go out there and spend four days all day sitting in the sun and drinking beer. I’m sorry. Those were the good old days when you had a single-channel television and the Test was rare and not accessible with media today, available to you on the fly. Every match around the world is available to you,” Modi added. (ANI)