Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has proposed a radical suggestion to protect Test cricket amid the expansion of lucrative T20 leagues around the world.

The traditional format of the game has witnessed a drop in enthusiasm among the fans. No wonder, playing two-match Test series has become a norm lately.

While there have been some exciting results in Tests recently including West Indies beating Australia at the Gabba, the length of the game is seen as a stumbling block among the modern-day fans.

Amidst all this, Shastri has called for a two-tier system in Test cricket for the 12 full-member nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to keep the matches competitive.

“When you don’t have quality, that is when the ratings drop, there are fewer people in the crowd, its meaningless cricket, which is the last thing sport wants,” Shastri said at MCC’s event World Cricket Connects on Sunday (July 7).

“You have 12 Test match teams. Bring it down to six or seven and have promotion and relegation system. You can have two tiers but let the top six keep playing to sustain the interest in Test cricket,” he added.

Shastri, 62, further opined that T20 cricket should be used as the vehicle to spread the game across the globe.

“You can spread the game in other formats, like T20,” he remarked.

Former Australia opener Justin Langer, who was also part of the symposium, expressed that international cricket needs to be protected from the rapidly growing T20 leagues.

He cited the example of the West Indies beating Australia at the Gabba and the interest it generated.

“…it had Australia enthralled and it brought the Caribbean to life,” Langer said. “Last week we saw a million people turn up to see India celebrated for winning the World Cup.”