Not in favour of four-day Tests, says India captain Kohli

Indian captain Virat Kohli, on Saturday, strongly opposed the 'four-day Test' proposed by the ICC as he is not in favour of any alterations which hurts the sanctity of the traditional five-day format.

The ICC wants to try out the four-day Test matches during the next FTP (Future Tours Programme) cycle between 2023-2031 in order to get more free days for the commercially lucrative shorter formats.

While this is at the proposal stage, Cricket Australia had expressed its intent of trying out the format even though senior bowler Nathan Lyon termed it 'ridiculous'.

"According to me, it should not be altered. As I said, the day-night is another step towards commercialising Test cricket and you know, creating excitement around it, but it can't be tinkered with too much. I don't believe so," Kohli, one of the biggest names in world cricket, told mediapersons on the eve of first T20 against Sri Lanka.

India recently played Day/Night Tests and that's about the change Kohli would like in the five-day version for now.

"You know the Day-Night Test is the most that should be changed about Test cricket, according to me," he said.

The India captain feels that the intent in reducing a day from five can't be right and then one might talk about having 'three-day Tests'.

"Then you are purely only talking about getting numbers, entertainment and you know. I think the intent will not be right then because then you will speak of three-day Tests. I mean where do you end. Then you will speak of Test cricket disappearing," Kohli was forthright in his answer.

"So I don't endorse that at all. I don't think that is fair to the purest format of the game. How cricket started initially, and you know five-day Tests was the highest of Tests you can have at the International level."

With thumbs down from currently the most influential international cricketer, ICC might find it difficult to implement it.

"T20 was a revelation (in terms) of introduction of a new format. I was asked about the 100-ball format (introduced by ECB) and I said I am not going to go and try myself out in another kind of format because there's already so much going on."