“While Test cricket has its uniqueness, changes will be inevitable”
PCB chief executive Wasim Khan has backed the increased use of day/night Test cricket to boost the future of the longest format.
Speaking to Wisden Cricket Monthly as part of a roundtable feature on the future of Test cricket, Khan was asked what he thought Test cricket would look like in 10 years’ time.
“We have to remain open to innovation and change,” Khan replied. “While Test cricket has its uniqueness, changes will be inevitable and will be needed to keep it alive in certain countries. Evolving the World Test Championship through significantly increased prize monies, for example, and day/night cricket becoming the norm will need to happen in my view.”
When discussing what could be done to help promote Test cricket, Khan added: “Increasing the amount of day/night Test cricket will only help support marketing efforts to promote the game.”
The PCB has hosted two day/night Tests, both in the UAE in 2016 and 2017. Following the return of Test cricket to Pakistan last December, the PCB had offered to host Bangladesh for a pink-ball Test earlier this year, but the BCB declined.
Pink-ball Tests have been most common in Australia: the country has hosted seven of the 14 day/night men’s Tests so far. In February, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly revealed that India – who hosted their first day/night Test last November against Bangladesh – had agreed to play one on their tour Down Under beginning later this year.
Khan added: “Can we grow our Test fanbase to keep interest alive? And can we continue to sell it as a product to broadcasters? This will be the collective challenge that we will need to rise to as a game. I am a huge lover of Test cricket but ‘tradition’ and a reluctance to change will be its downfall if we place that at the forefront of each argument.”
