His call: 20-20 for 2020 Olympics

“It is very difficult to attract more people to the sport through the medium of Test cricket,but T20,on the other hand,is the perfect tool to do so”,he said.

Gilchrist thoroughly approved of experimenting with the 50-over ODI format of the game but felt that Test cricket should remain unchanged. He agreed with Sachin Tendulkar’s suggestion of splitting the one-day format into four innings,and was of the view that test cricket,being the purest form of the game,will always have a fan following. “Test cricket is a masterpiece and should be left untouched”,he said.

While T20 has taken off,with big tournaments like the IPL and the T20 World Cup,the former Australian vice captain feels that the schedule for a cricketer in a calendar year is a bit hectic though. “There is an overdose of cricket currently and the amount of cricket being played is well past the level it should be. This results in exhaustion of the players and a dip in form of the players as we have seen with the Indian team in the last two tournaments.”

While the Indians have not performed up to standard recently,Gilchrist feels that they have enough quality in the team to bounce back. “It’s an extremely competitive outfit and is still one of the best teams in international cricket. Harbhajan’s innings yesterday was an example of the sheer grit of the team and their never-say-die attitude. Ishant Sharma’s bowling performance yesterday was outstanding. The fact that RP Singh still cannot find a place in the team shows the sheer depth of the bowling attack”,he said.

“I spoke to Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) over the phone and was assured that he’d be fit for the next ODI. This will ensure a stronger Indian batting line-up,” he added.