WTC Final 2023 | Happy that IPL is the envy of the world, but need to save Test cricket: Engineer

London: Former India wicket-keeper batsman Farokh Engineer is happy to see that the world is envious of the immense success of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but he also wants the game’s stakeholders to understand Test cricket. Take concrete steps to get Cricket out of danger. Financially strong India, England and Australia are committed to Test cricket but players from smaller countries are preferring to play in franchise leagues around the world as they earn handsomely from there. Engineer told PTI, “It is not a good thing for Test cricket to be in danger. It is good that the game is spreading across the world through T20 but Test cricket should not be sacrificed for this.” “That’s why the World Test Championship shows the world that Test cricket can be just as interesting as limited overs cricket,” he added. Also read The 85-year-old engineer, who arrived in London from Manchester to watch the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia, said, “It is like a game of chess, depending on the circumstances.” There is a real test of the batsmen in this. There should be enough space for both Test and limited overs cricket.” The WTC final is being played at the Oval where India won its first Test match in England in 1971. Engineer played a key role in India’s victory by scoring 59 runs in the first innings of that match. He has played cricket in those days when cricketers used to earn 50 rupees a day. He is happy that the present generation cricketers are earning crores in IPL. “India has progressed in Test cricket and in limited overs cricket we have the IPL which is the envy of the world,” Engineer said. The reins of cricket are in the hands of Indian cricket and that makes me very happy. He said, “I watch cricket all the time. It’s in my blood. Cricket is an Indian game which accidentally originated in Britain. Cricket was very popular earlier also but with T20 it is spreading in all the countries of the world. Big money is available in IPL. We used to get Rs 50 a day to play five-day Test matches.” The engineer also narrated an interesting anecdote on the occasion. He said, “I remember I was batting with Sunil Gavaskar and we needed 15 to 20 runs in the last half an hour of the fourth day. We were getting messages from the dressing room that don’t finish the match today as it will cost us the allowance for the fifth day. We didn’t play for money. We used to play for respect.