Australia’s fans celebrate the wicket of Jasprit Bumrah during the fourth cricket Test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. (AP Photo)
Former India coach Ravi Shastri has proposed a radical two-tier system for the ‘survival of Test cricket’ after the India versus Australia series. The hosts clinched the Border Gavaskar Trophy with a 1-3 margin.
After the final match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Ravi Shastri, who is in Australia as a commentator, talked about the importance of big teams facing each other more frequently in Tests.
“It [the MCG Test] was also a sound reminder to the ICC that the best should play the best for Test cricket to survive. I will say that there’s too much of a clutter otherwise,” Ravi Shastri said.
“This match further emphasises why we need a two-tier system with the top 6-8 teams and then include promotion and demotion. You will not get these kinds of crowds if you don’t have two proper teams playing,” Ravi Shastri added.
This came after Cricket Australia announced that a total of 8,37,879 fans physically attended the India vs Australia series in the stands at the five venues. This is the highest series attendance for any non-Ashes series in Australia.
At the Perth Stadium, the record daily attendance for any Test in Perth was hit on Day 2 with 32,368 fans attending.
Adelaide Oval also saw a record single day attendance for a Test against India with 51,642 fans turning up on Day 2. The Test also saw the largest attendance for a Test against India at Adelaide Oval of 1,35,012 set in just three days.
The Gabba Test in Brisbane saw a Day 2 attendance of 34,227, which was the largest for a Test against India in Brisbane. The Boxing Day Test at Melbourne saw a total attendance of 3,73,691, which was a record for any Test in Australia surpassing the 3,50,534 who saw Don Bradman’s Australia defeat England in a six-day Test in 1937. The 74,362 fans who showed up to watch the final day of the MCG Test was also a record Day 5 crowd for any Test in Australia. And the fifth Test at the SCG saw the three largest daily attendances for a Test against India in Sydney with the new single day record of 47,998 set on Day 1.
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