Don’t think you should play Day-Night Tests, says Tilakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Dilshan has stated that Test cricket should be played only in daylight and in full whites, without numbers on the back, while adding that it was a personal view. The former Sri Lankan batsman has also added that Test cricket has ‘definitely been impacted’ with the advent of T20s.
After the day Tests saw a lack of turn out by the spectators, the world is slowly moving in the direction of having Day-Night Tests as the norm. Australia have the annual day-night Test already set up, while BCCI's new President-Elect Sourav Ganguly has already shown his inclination towards convincing the team management of playing Day/Night Tests at home too. However, former Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was in India to film Road Saftey Series promo, is against the idea of playing Test cricket under lights.
"I don’t think you should play Day-Night. Test cricket should be played only in daylight and in full whites, without numbers on the back. That’s a personal view. We should keep it simple. It’s the main format. I feel Test cricket should be played in the traditional way, just like the gentleman’s game," Dilshan said on the sidelines of the Road Safety World Series on Thursday, reported Sportstar.
The advent of T20s has surely affected the interest towards Test cricket, despite the fact that purists have still connected to the Test format, thanks to the pure spectacle it brings at times. Dilshan was not really off the mark when he said so and claimed that Test cricket has ‘definitely been impacted’ with the advent of T20s.
“Early on in my career, we used to play a lot of one-dayers besides Test cricket. Some countries have now reduced number of Test matches to make way for more T20 and ODIs, so it has affected Tests, but ICC should push Test cricket more,” Dilshan, who played 87 Tests for Sri Lanka, said.