Former India opener Aakash Chopra has spoken about the need for a tier system in Test cricket while speaking about the poor performance of the once mighty West Indies in the ongoing first Test against India, being played in Ahmedabad from October 2.
The West Indies, who are ranked eighth in ICC Test rankings, batted first after winning the toss and only managed 162 runs in their first innings. Mohammed Siraj picked up four wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets, and Justin Greaves top-scored with 32 runs.
Aakash Chopra dived deep into the statistics, highlighting the poor averages of the West Indies batters in Tests.
"If you see the top six batters of the West Indies team, everyone's average is in the twenties. Chanderpaul has an average of barely over 30, just 31.11. So, just one batter has an average of over 30, and even that is not like 35 or something, and the rest are like 25-ish. If you are a member of the team with this average, and that too after playing a significant amount of Test cricket, then it is clear that there is no prowess. They are playing Test cricket, but are they good enough for tests?" Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Given the disparity between some Test teams in international cricket, several have suggested a two-tier system that would split the present Test-playing nations—of whom there are currently 12 Full Members—into two performance-based divisions, or "tiers."
The top-ranked teams (probably six teams, possibly including the 'Big Three'—India, England, and Australia—as well as South Africa and New Zealand) would compete in the first tier.
The remaining Full Member countries and possibly a few Associate Member teams would be in the second level. According to Aakash Chopra, the West Indies' performance against India does support the arguments for the two-tier system.
"Now, should there be a tier system in Test cricket? This series acts as fuel to the fire in this conversation. The point of the WTC was to bring excitement in the longest format, with teams battling it out for points—it feels nice to hear it. There is importance because teams want points, but where will you bring the contest from? You have not lost a single test to them in the last 20-22 years, so what contest?" he said.
At the time of writing this piece, India had made 317/4, with KL Rahul making 100 and Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel scoring half-centuries.
