"It’s just four weeks a year"- Graeme Smith disagrees with debate of SA20 hampering South Africa's Test cricket

SA20 League chairman Graeme Smith rubbished the argument that the domestic league could gravely hamper the future of Test cricket in the country.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) received heavy scrutiny from fans and pundits around the world when they decided to withdraw their star players from the two-match Test series against New Zealand in order to make them available for SA20 2024.

However, speaking to PTI, Graeme Smith explained why it is important to give SA20 league a chance to succeed

The former South African skipper said:

"SA20 is (for) four weeks a year which we operate on and obviously, one or two challenges happen and that’s not ideal. That should get better and better every season. South African cricket has made a commitment that SA20 is a big part of its future and gives it the best chance to succeed. I believe it’s just four weeks a year and there would be a lot of chance to play Test cricket."

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Graeme Smith feels ODI cricket's future is more concerning than Test

Although the 2027 and 2031 editions of the ODI World Cup are going to be held in South Africa and India respectively, Graeme Smith believes the 50-over format is gradually becoming the least interesting one for spectators.

Explaining why Test cricket will never lose relevance, Smith stated:

"There are two more World Cups that have been sold to broadcasters and one in SA in 2027 and 2031 is back in India. Even in between the cycle, ODI cricket is going to find itself in challenging space."

He added:

"One format that is falling is the category where people are less interested and patches of game which are going to be slow. Test cricket is always going to be enthralling and we know how much T20 they enjoy and the success it has commercially gained."

CSA was also criticized for keeping just a two-Test series against India by several pundits.