India unlikely to take part in four-day Tests

The ICC gave the go ahead for the four-day Test at a recent ICC meeting in Auckland after South Africa requested the same so that they could organise a one-off Test against Zimbabwe on Boxing Day. While a lot has been made on whether or not the reduced format would help in re-popularising the longest format of the game, the BCCI have taken the Anil Kumble-led ICC Cricket Committee's recommendation, which is against the move.

"India will not play any four-day Test matches, at least in the near future. Any Test match involving India will be a five-day affair," a senior BCCI official told TOI.

"The BCCI believes that there is a lot of merit in Anil Kumble-led Cricket Committee's recommendations that duration should not be tinkered with. But since four-day Test matches are bi-partite agreements, if two nations are okay, they will go ahead with it."

The biggest reason for the BCCI's lack of interest in the format stems from the fact that the four-day Test don't result in any points in the recently proposed Test league.

"Only five-day Tests will have points that will be counted for the World Test Championship. What's the point in playing matches that won't count for anything. In any case, if we play Ireland or Afghanistan also, it will be five-day affairs," the official added.

The ICC's main logic behind the promotion of the four-day Test was so that newly promoted Test nations Ireland and Afghanistan, along with Zimbabwe, are able to ease into the longest format of the game and can try to be competitive with the established nations.

"Let's be practical. For Ireland or Afghanistan, it will be very difficult that they can be competitive in a five-day format straight away. If Test matches against these countries end inside three days or little over it, it is only logical that four-day Tests are tried out."