With the rising popularity of domestic T20 leagues across the world, England Test skipper Ben Stokes has expressed his fear over the future of Test cricket while also slamming the ICC for not paying enough attention to scheduling.

Stokes, who has changed the fortunes of the England Test team after taking charge earlier this year, further added that it hurts him to see the way Test cricket is being handled and spoken about these days.

“The scheduling doesn’t get enough attention that it should. A great example is England’s one-day series against Australia after the T20 World Cup. That was shoving three games in there. It made sense to someone to schedule a series which meant nothing,” said Stokes in an interaction with Ian Botham on BBC.

“Test cricket has been spoken about in a way I don’t like. It is losing the attention of the fans with all the new formats and franchise competitions. We understand there are so many opportunities for players away from Test cricket. But for me it is so important for the game,” he added.

Under Ben Stokes, England have played a fearless brand of cricket in the longest format of the game. In his leadership, the Three Lions have defeated New Zealand and South Africa at home and also won the one-off Test against India at Edgbaston.

With the same approach, the Stokes-led side recently whitewashed Pakistan 3-0 in an away Test series.

According to the England Test captain, entertainment more than the result will go a long way in popularise the five-day format.

”Taking the result away from the mindset is a great starting point. Putting focus on making every day entertaining. Not allowing people to know what is going to happen. If people turn up excited about what they are going to watch you’ve already won before a ball has been bowled,” said Stokes.

He urged the ICC to do “something different” to popularise Test cricket.

”I love playing Test cricket and felt we could do something different,” added Stokes, who has led England to 9 wins in 10 Tests so far.

In the wake of COVID-19, teams are fielding different squads as key players are being rested because of the abundance of cricket.

Ben Stokes also expressed his reservations about it, saying: “Some people say ‘you are playing for England, that should be enough’. But there is a lot more to factor in. You want international cricket to be the highest standard. But we have seen a lot of different squads being picked and players being rested, and that’s not the way international cricket should go.”

(With PTI inputs)