‘Test cricket is the most beautiful format’ – Virat Kohli

Kohli, the No.1 batsman in the MRF Tyres ICC Rankings for Test batsmen, is a modern great, excelling in all formats of the game in different conditions across the world.

He is also the No.1 ranked batsman in one-day internationals, and he captains an India side that tops the charts in Tests and is No.2 in ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals.

But he has always maintained that the traditional format of the game is his favourite, and has gone to lengths to excel in it.

“I think that if you really understand the sport, if you really love the sport, you understand Test cricket and you understand how exciting it is,” Kohli told Wisden Cricket Monthly. “I cannot explain to you the job satisfaction that you get when you do well in Test cricket, because you know how demanding it is.

“It’s the most beautiful format of the game. I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere. I don’t even see it getting compressed to four days. It should not be tinkered with.”

In June, the ICC announced the schedule for the inaugural World Test Championship – a tournament designed to add context to bilateral Test cricket. It will run from July 2019 to April 2021, with the nine top-ranked Test teams contesting each other in a home-and-away basis with the aim of finishing in the top two, and then winning the final.

Kohli believed the initiative would give the format a boost. “I think the Test Championship is going to give a huge push to Test cricket,” he said. “It makes every series more competitive, and there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the Championship, which I really look forward to.”

The India captain also stressed on the need to push and promote first-class cricket, and ensure the longest format of the game flourishes. “If you’re not going to give more importance to first-class cricket, then people are going to lose motivation to play the longest format of the game,” he said.

“And with the T20 format coming in, I think there’s a far greater responsibility on all the cricket boards across the world to treat first-class cricket really well. Because, if the facilities and the standard goes up, then the motivation always stays.

“You don’t want players to get into that mindset where they’re finding the easy way out.”