Cricket's greats are worried about the future of test matches. Ricky Ponting notably. Of course, if you've dedicated your game to a certain format of the game and have made records therein, you can't not get worried about that format getting obsolete. For without the format how will your greatness be remembered? :)
On a serious note, the decline in popularity of test matches should've been predicted at least 15 years ago; I could be wrong though. If medium is the massage, then clearly one can see what kind of massage people have always longed for. Besides adopting the skills-of-the-street for the big screen has always been a great formula to gain popularity among masses. Dancing, singing, biking, T20 are all examples of the same. That way the screen becomes of the masses, for the masses and to some extent, by the masses.
Does that mean test matches will stay out of favour perenially? Not really, like there are phases in people's lives, in products' lives, in brands' lives, sports also go through phases. The format of test match isn't finding a conducive environment (at least from a mass interest point of view) around the world. Young, ambitious, fast-moving partying Indians understand the values of T20 but will take some time to grasp those of test matches. India being the financial and popularity capital of world cricket, the perception of young Indians will determine how long the test match format languishes before making a comeback.
So worriers shouldn't worry about realities. Worriers had better pay attention to perceptions and play it for the crowd. :)
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