Test cricket’s revival will depend on the audience and BCCI prioritising red-ball format

A week has passed since the Guwahati defeat, yet something about that loss refuses to settle down. Yes, white-ball cricket has returned. Yes, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back lighting up the ODI stage. And yes, social media is buzzing again.

But beneath that noise lies a quieter, more uncomfortable question, one that won’t go away just because the spotlight has moved.

Is India’s declining Test culture merely a cricketing malfunction, or is it, at its core, a commercial inevitability? And if commerce is the real culprit, is the decline reversible at all?

To raise these questions is not to accuse the BCCI of malpractice. It is simply to interrogate the ecosystem cricket has evolved into, where Test cricket is increasingly fighting for breath. This problem is not uniquely Indian, but India, by virtue of its financial gravitational pull, sits at the centre of the issue.

IPL contributes 60 per cent of all earnings

The starting point is unavoidable: the BCCI’s financial engine runs on short-format fuel. The audited numbers from FY 2023–24 tell the story plainly. Out of a total income of Rs 9,741.71 crore, the IPL alone contributed Rs 5,761 crore, almost 60 per cent of all earnings. Internal summaries from 2025 indicate further growth driven largely by media rights, sponsorship packages, and franchise-linked revenues that all pivot around the IPL cycle.

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None of this signals neglect. It simply reflects what the market rewards. When the biggest product by an overwhelming margin is a domestic T20 league, the rest of the cricketing calendar inevitably rearranges itself around that orbit. And when the short-format game brings in most of the money, prioritising Test cricket becomes harder every passing year.

Best domestic competition

This is where nuance becomes essential. India still operates the most expansive first-class structure in the world. The Ranji Trophy’s scale surpasses that of any other domestic competition. India A tours were once perhaps the best Test scouting mechanism in global cricket.

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And crucially, the BCCI has not abandoned red-ball cricket, far from it. The board has increased match fees for domestic players and initiated early discussions about reviving India A tours as part of a broader pipeline revival. These are meaningful steps. They show recognition rather than neglect. The issue is not the board’s intentions; it is the misalignment between financial incentives and cricketing outcomes.

Scheduling issues

This misalignment becomes even more evident when India’s approach is contrasted with that of the two most recent World Test Champions: Australia and South Africa. Both nations have faced their own financial and scheduling pressures, yet neither allowed their Test preparation cycles to be diluted.

South Africa, for instance, played Pakistan in October before touring India, ensuring they had time to adjust to spin, subcontinental conditions, and long-format rhythms. Their calendar reflected a deliberate commitment to staying in Test mode. India, by contrast, found itself playing ODIs and T20s in Australia immediately after a Test series against the West Indies and just before facing the reigning Test champions.

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This was not a question of effort but of direction. One team prepared specifically for the format that mattered while the other prepared for formats that had little bearing on the upcoming challenge.

Wrong focus in selection

And this difference in direction is not just about scheduling, it shows up in selection, too. Australia and South Africa have embraced a clear horses-for-courses philosophy. They pick Test squads based on long-format temperament, domestic dominance, and conditions, not on short-term white-ball momentum. India used to operate this way.

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The golden generation of the last couple of decades, which had the likes of Dravid, Laxman, Pujara, and Rahane, was not elevated because of immediate form or T20 sparkle but because each had compiled years of substantial domestic performance and demonstrated the mental endurance required for Test cricket. That continuity built a stable core for nearly two decades.

But in recent years, India’s selection has occasionally blurred formats, rewarding perceived potential or white-ball impact rather than sustained red-ball performances.

White-ball dominance

When a cricket economy becomes white-ball dominant, players inevitably adapt. Young cricketers grow up seeing IPL contracts, franchise fame, digital virality, and T20 skills celebrated far more than the subtleties of building long-format innings. Grinding out 180 balls on a turning fourth-day pitch is not a visible, aspirational pathway. Clearing the ropes in a 25-ball cameo is.

The consequence is predictable. Domestic red-ball cricket loses its status, the Ranji Trophy becomes a place to maintain form rather than build temperament, technical resilience erodes, selectors begin favouring “impact” over endurance, and India’s weaknesses against movement, bounce, spin, and long spells become entrenched.

Broader cultural drift

This is why the loss in Guwahati felt like more than a poor performance. It felt like a symptom of a broader cultural drift.

The issue is not that red-ball cricket has been ignored, it is that scheduling, selection clarity, and long-term planning have not consistently pointed in the direction that Test success demands.

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But perhaps the deepest truth lies beyond boardrooms. The future of Test cricket will not be decided by administrators but by audiences. If stadiums fill, broadcast ratings climb, and digital platforms amplify long-form narratives, then sponsors and boards will respond. If not, Test cricket will survive as a respected artefact but slowly drift to the margins.

The analogy is simple: T20 cricket is dessert; Test cricket is the daily diet. Dessert is delightful, even addictive. But no one can thrive on dessert alone. And right now, cricket’s ecosystem is choosing dessert more often than not.

Revival ultimately depends on the audience

Is the decline reversible? Yes, but not through nostalgia, not through moral appeals, and not through selectively blaming teams, captains, or selectors. A red-ball revival requires structural honesty, selection built on long-format discipline, scheduling that respects Test rhythms, and above all an audience that demands it.

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The decline did not begin in Guwahati. It began the moment cricket’s financial balance shifted while its cultural balance lagged behind. India’s Test cricket will survive, because its heritage and depth are too deeply rooted to disappear. But whether survival turns into flourishing depends ultimately on the choices of millions who watch the game.