Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag sees no reason why cricket's three formats -- Test, ODI, and T20I -- can't co-exist in the face of the global rise of franchise leagues.

Now, almost all the cricket-playing nations have their own league, and since it gives fans and financial security to the players and broadcasters, T20 cricket has become the most popular of the formats worldwide, and many have been considering the shortest format of the game as the future.

However, Sehwag admitted that the players have become financially secure with the emergence of T20 leagues around the world, but stressed that T20 cricket alone won’t be the way forward in the game while highlighting how the ICC makes sure all the nations play ODIs and Tests in a calendar year.

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Virender Sehwag was quoted as saying to Reuters: “I don’t agree that only T20 is the way forward. Test cricket and one-day cricket will stay because the ICC makes sure countries play them so it can organize the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. Test cricket and ODIs are very much part of how the game moves forward.”

The 44-year-old added, “I think this is the best time to play cricket because even if you don’t play for your country and just play these T20 leagues, you are secure from a financial point of view.”

Sehwag is the face of the UAE's International League T20 (ILT20) promotional campaign, and the legendary batter said that the six-team tournament will be a huge success.

He signed off by saying, “The league is run by professionals, has the best players taking part in it, and the franchise owners have experience in running sports teams. The biggest advantage is the league is in the UAE, which means a larger number of people from across continents will be able to watch it because the time zone will suit them.”

(With Reuters Inputs)