De Villiers also came in defence of the Newlands Test match pitch that saw the game being completed inside five sessions.
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has criticized Test series being shortened, such as the recently concluded two Tests between India and South Africa.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, de Villiers, who donned the Proteas cap across 114 Tests, pressed that for the longest format to thrive ‘something has to change’.
“I am not happy that there is not a third Test. You have to blame the T20 cricket going around the world for that,” he said. “I do not know whom to blame, but I sense something is wrong. If you want to see all the teams compete and see who is the best Test team in the world, something has to change.”
Cricket South Africa have been under the scanner since they announced a second string squad for the three Test series in New Zealand in February, with majority of their players having committed to playing in the SA20 League that begins Wednesday, January 10.
“It (South Africa’s Test squad for New Zealand) has sent shockwaves around the cricketing world and has made it clear that Test cricket is under pressure, for that matter even ODI cricket and the whole system is turning around T20 cricket,” de Villiers said. “The players, the board and coaches will turn towards where there is more money. You cannot blame them for thinking about their future with their family.”
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Cape Town pitch, stock-standard
De Villiers also came in defence of the Newlands Test match pitch that saw the game being completed inside five sessions.
“It was a pretty stock-standard wicket, in my opinion. I remember jumping around there on day one,” he said. “If you can just get through the first session on day one, it gets easier.”
The former Proteas batter raised questions of the batting prowess on offer from both the teams and how the bowlers encashed on the opportunity.
“If you see the players playing their shots and not hanging around, they were doing well. I remember Ben Stokes scoring a double-hundred there. I scored some hundreds there. You cannot allow bowlers like Vernon Philander, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada to keep bowling on off stump,” he added.
