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Mahela Jayawardene feels that ICC World Test Championship is a 'unique concept'
Mahela Jayawardene sounded confident about the success of the ICC World Test Championship and felt that the tournament would keep the fans engaged throughout.
Former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene felt confident about the upcoming ICC World Test Championship which will commence with the Ashes and termed it as a unique concept by the ICC. He said, "It's quite unique. I'm pretty confident that it will attract a lot of interest." According to Jayawardene, the World Test Championship needs to have the same format as in the other event, otherwise it will become a bilateral tournament.
"We have a World Championship in other formats and I think it's important to bring that over into Test cricket. Otherwise, it just becomes bilateral series after bilateral series."
The premiere tournament for Test cricket will feature the top nine full member nations namely Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. This tournament will also see the players sporting their names on their Test jerseys.
"Once you bring in that concept, there will be enough competitive structure in the five-day game to make fans excited and keep them gripped over a number of years. They will be looking forward to seeing their teams play when there are lots at stake. We will see where the teams rank over a period of time and who the best teams are, home and away. It's important to keep the Test game healthy. We cannot be afraid of evolution to do that. This is one way of changing the game. It's not easy to sustain three different formats but you have to give the same emphasis and focus to each one."
The veteran of 149 Tests with over 11000 runs under his belt also felt that the Test championship will produce players of the best quality.
"The Test game produces good quality cricketers. It tests them in the right way over a Championship season, players will have to prove their worth in a variety of situations and in every different set of conditions."
When asked about New Zealand's tour to Sri Lanka, he said, "New Zealand has just been in a World Cup final and cricket will be on a high in the country at the moment. A tour of New Zealand is always a tough challenge. They have a settled team in Test cricket and their bowling unit in particular looks very strong. It's a great test for Sri Lanka, to go out and challenge themselves to perform. It's not going to be easy to beat New Zealand away from home, but every point is vital for Sri Lanka going forward in the World Test Championship."
Sri Lanka will face New Zealand in 2 Tests and 3 T20Is from 14th August.
