‘Kya takleef hai dadaji ko’- Fans fume over Ian Botham’s controversial remarks claiming Indians prefer Indian T20 League over Test Cricket
He talked on these topics in an interview to a publication.
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Feb 4, 2023 5:20 pm
Ian Botham (Source: Twitter)
Former England all-rounder Ian Botham has directed some explosive comments that have sounded the alarm bells concerning Test cricket and its waning popularity in India. He says that one of the reasons this has happened is because of the explosion of the Indian T20 League in the Indian Cricket ecosystem.
He fired a comment that the craze for Test cricket has dwindled in India and that only the Indian T20 League can draw out crowds from their homes and into stadiums to watch the tournament which is one of the best T20 Leagues in the World. India will face Australia for the upcoming Border- Gavaskar Trophy and it will be a four-match Test series which will start on February 9 in Nagpur.
Test Cricket is not keenly watched in India – Ian Botham
He opined that although the money being pumped into the Indian cricket system from the Indian T20 League is wonderful, this won’t last long and the Indian T20 League will meet its expiry date in comparison to Test cricket. He said that the present crop of players must give more importance to Test cricket. The tournament has made players move out of their national sides and play more franchise cricket.
“You go to India now and they won’t watch Test cricket. It’s all Indian T20 League. They earn big money and it sounds great now, but how long do they think this is going to last? Test cricket has been around for 100 years plus, it’s not going to go anywhere. And if we do lose Test cricket, then we’ll lose cricket as we know it. It will become meaningless. To play a Test match is what every player should want to do,” The former all-rounder said in an interview English publication Mirror Sport.
“We’re lucky in England, all the Tests are probably sold out by now for The Ashes, certainly the first four days anyway. They don’t get that anywhere else in the world. In Australia, if England are playing you’ll probably get 75-80,000 on Boxing Day. Most grounds in Test cricket wouldn’t get that in a season,” Botham added. His reference is to the packed crowds that are generally seen in England and Australia but he said that the crowds are sparse in India.
Fir kyon aa jate ho ipl khelne National duties ko chod ke ipl bhi khelna hai Aur test cricket pe Gyan bhi dena hai ECB ko bolo ban kare apne players ko ipl se
IB was a great cricketer, but this sounds like a case of sour grapes. IPL will last forever and even if things change in cricket, India and its cricket fans will be the ones who will usher in that change. Live with it, world.
They won’t watch test cricket lol😂 I mean you can blame IPL for ruining the selection criteria maybe but if anything IPL has generated interest in cricket more than ever.
I completely agree with Ian Botham. Scripted IPL will not last long. There is already fatigue in other cricketing nations bcos of IPL. Tomorrow cricket will be played only in India nowhere else.
