Virender Sehwag: "Diapers and five-day Tests should only be changed when finished"

The ICC's cricket committee will discuss the possibility of introducing mandatory four-day Tests from 2023 when they meet in Dubai in March, with several governing bodies - including the ECB and Cricket Australia - known to support the idea

• Strauss: Four-day Tests should be an easy sell... or we shouldn't be doing it
• Latest India news

Virender Sehwag is the latest big cricket name to come out in support of five-day Test matches.

The ICC's cricket committee will discuss the possibility of introducing four-day Tests from 2023 when they meet in Dubai in March, with several prominent governing bodies - including the ECB and Cricket Australia - known to support the idea in principle.

Among players and fans, however, there has been a groundswell of objection to the proposal, with high-profile stars Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Mahela Jayawardene and Ricky Ponting all publicly opposing it in recent weeks.

Now Sehwag, who played 104 Tests for India, has added his voice.

"I have always supported change. I captained India in its first T20 game and I am proud of that. I was also part of India’s World T20 winning team in 2007. But five-day Test cricket is romance, said Sehwag, while delivering the Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi Lecture at the BCCI Awards on Sunday.

^{Virender Sehwag is the latest star to stand up for five-day Tests}

"Innovations like names in jerseys and pink-ball Tests are fine. But diapers and five-day Tests should only be changed when it's finished, when it can’t be used anymore.

"Five-day Test is not finished. Test cricket is a 143-year old fit person. It has a soul."

Should the ICC cricket committee recommend four-day Tests, the proposal would still have to pass votes at both the executive committee and board levels within the global governing body before it was introduced into the World Test Championship.

Andrew Strauss, the former England captain who sits on the cricket committee, has recently stressed the need for the four-day Test case to be watertight before it is even considered for implementation.

"We need a World Test Championship that is meaningful and compelling. The length of the game is only one part of that bigger discussion," he told The Guardian.

"This isn’t something that is being proposed with an agenda behind it. No one wants to change for the sake of it. It should be an easy sell or we shouldn’t be doing it."

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER