'Blame BCCI's promotion of T20 for India's Test woes'
Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lanka captain, tells Sportstar that the Indian media and public should hold the BCCI's promotion of Twenty20 cricket responsible for the mess the Test side is in
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lanka captain, tells Sportstar that instead of blaming individual players such as Sachin Tendulkar or the captain MS Dhoni, the Indian media and public should hold the BCCI's promotion of Twenty20 cricket responsible for the mess the Test side is in.
When we played in India during my time, bowling India out twice was like a dream. When you have batsmen like Gavaskar, (Dilip) Vengsarkar, (Mohammad) Azharuddin, and later on when Sachin (Tendulkar), (Sourav) Ganguly, (Rahul) Dravid and (V. V. S.) Laxman arrived, you never even thought of getting the team out twice. Drawing a series in India and going back home felt like a victory. Now, India struggles to bat for two days.
I think Twenty20 cricket is having a bad effect. The skill levels are declining. India hardly has a proper batsman with technique. It is exactly the same thing back home in Sri Lanka.