Formal Chairman and President at at Star & Disney India and Walt Disney APAC respectively giving his insight on current global cricket calender, basically calling majority of bilateral series useless.
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"Cricket needs clarity. It has three formats and all three are currently battling each other for greater relevance. In that, the game finds itself caught in a bizarre dichotomy that has come to exist and it needs to be resolved".
That line of thought, he explains, comes from how fans are taking to the game now, visa -vis the past. "Fans want more of T20, followed by ODIs and very few want Test cricket. In that, they want iconic Test cricket - India vs Australia, England vs Australia, India vs England. Nobody wants just any random Test matches. But the cricket establishment still seems to be in denial and thinks cricket is still about Test matches because it was about Test matches 30 years ago," says Shankar.
That line of thought, he explains, comes from how fans are taking to the game now, visa -vis the past. "Fans want more of T20, followed by ODIs and very few want Test cricket. In that, they want iconic Test cricket - India vs Australia, England vs Australia, India vs England. Nobody wants just any random Test matches. But the cricket establishment still seems to be in denial and thinks cricket is still about Test matches because it was about Test matches 30 years ago," says Shankar.
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Shankar says it is the game's administration that must align its goals with that of fans and cricket lovers because sponsors and advertisers in the game will only reflect the priorities of the fans.
