Indian players celebrate the trophy after victory in India and West India Test Match series at the ARUN Jaitley stadium in Nový Delhi, India, Tuesday, October 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) New Delhi: At the beginning of this year, the former head coach of India Ravi Shastri defended the two -stage structure in descent and promotion tests to ensure the survival of the longest game format.“If you do not create a two -stage system, you will continue to have unmatched teams against each other and then it is very unlikely that they will be able to take the game by the fifth day,” Shastri wrote in the Australian column.
What does a test cricket doing so unrivaled? Ramji Srinivasan on the size of the red ball virata kohli
Shastriho’s speech with the promotion of the relegation almost looked like a necessity after Ahmedabad test between India and Western India ended in two and a half days. After a difficult criticism with the former Legend of West Indies, however, asked the party of Roston Chase to show some heart, and they played with Grit in the capital of the National City when the second test went to 5. But it was still a comfortable seven-bridged victory for India.
London, England – June 14: Temba Bavum in South Africa celebrates the trophy during the 4th day of the World Championship of the World Test, the last match between South Africa and Australia in Lords Cricket Ground 14. June 2025 in London in England. (Photo: Paul Harding/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
A series where West Indies never looked forward in the test and won a total of one session, again raises familiar questions: How do you make a test cricket meaningful, competitive and financially sustainable, at the same time?A question that has recently reappeared whether it is time to finally introduce a two -stage system in a test cricket. For those who do not know, this idea is not new. For the first time in 2009, Dave Richardson, the then CEO of ICC for cricket, assumes a system where the testing teams would be divided into two divisions:“Keep the best teams against each other and then🔴 Bring Greater Contest and Concuction to the test matches that will🔴 Greater revenue and eyeball for play and make it a more friendly marketAlso read: Two -stage system: cricket faces its latest test
Context and contest
After 15 years of working on the backdoor, the World Championship (WTC) increased in 2019 with the motif to add another context to two -sided tests. By creating a specialized competition for test cricket and securing events for the format.To some extent, ICC was successful to the goal, because even though the test match is “dead rubber” in terms of the series, which is part of the point of view of the points it offers.WTC added a context to bilateral tests and gave teams table to climb, and points for persecution, what did not fix is the problem of unilateral competitions because so many test matches-Mimo big three, New Zealand (inaugural winners of WTC) and ruling masters) (ruling champions) ended two days Competitiveness. This persistent imbalance has restored the calls for structural changes, such as a graded system, to compensate for compliance more evenly.LATEST WTC StandingsteamsmatcheswonlutDrawndeductiontpctaustralia33000036100.00sri Lanka2100101666.67india7420105261.90England522012643.33Bangladesh2010416.67West Indies50500000.00000 Zealand00000000.00Pakistan00000000.00SOOTH AFROCRA00000000.00Also read: ECB is reluctant on a two -stage test model, concerns about losing clashes of awnings
How to ensure that the level system works
The informal level of the level already exists because we have nine teams participating in WTC and three that are not. According to reports, however, within the proposed graded system, teams would be divided into two divisions with a system of promotion and descent.Cricket analyst and writer Jarrod Kimber once advocated the idea of providing test status to more countries. While Kimber suggested expanding the test teams to approximately 20, a more realistic step could be the provision of a test situation at least two other teams than the level system becomes a reality.
Southampton, England – June 23: Kane Williamson from New Zealand will raise MACE World Championship in the ICC Test after winning the ICC World Championship between India and New Zealand in Hampshire Bowl on June 23, 2021 in Southampton, England. (Photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Then the test cricket will have 14 test teams and two levels of seven and a system of promotion and descent. Each team in the highest level plays another 6 in the WTC cycle, three home and three series, with too much space in the number of overall matches for each team. The second thing to ensure that the second level teams also play regular tests. For Ireland, Afghanistan or any other team that would end in the second level, it has a much greater chance to improve the game more tests than playing a one -time test against the highest team and throw away. Afghanistan and Ireland have received test status in 2018 and have since played only 11 and 10 tests.
Sharing cricket cake, designated windows for tests and minimum wage
For many teams outside Big Three, playing a test match is a loss. For example, talking to the BBC, the former CEO of Western India Johnny Grave at the beginning of this year, “I found it frustrating to come to England for $ 1 million on West India and see no income.” So there is a major concern about how ICC will take care of the finances of teams that would end up at level 2.
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Speaking with Timesofindia.com, journalist and author Tim Wigmore said that to work the level system, “absolute key thing is that the income is more evenly divided.” Wigmore, who wrote the book “Test Cricket: and History”, suggested two ways to solve the problem.🔴 The introduction of a centralized system where ICC oversees bilateral tests played under the WTC, as it does with the World Cups, issues a centralized broadcasting right of a nation or region. Then the generated income would be distributed: part of the host nation, a piece of travel team and the rest to the ICC that would share them between the 6-7 Tier 2 teams.🔴 Alternatively, the host nation could manage broadcasts and other logistics, but the test revenues would be divided into three: 45-50% into a host nation, 30-35% into the travel team and the rest of the ICC for redistribution between two-level teams.Wigmore also proposed the idea of designated windows for test matches “without the competition of franchise leagues that are played at the same time” to ensure that the format gets undivided attention and the best players are available.In addition, Wigmore suggests that the idea of introducing a minimum wage for test crickets, especially players from those who compete in a potential division of two, could be explored, “so the two -division players are still well paid to play.”But in fact it seems that a very attractive dream and shastri correctly emphasize: “The best should play the best for the test cricket to survive.”
