Talking points from the MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture

The sixth year of the Pataudi Lecture was preceded by a massive backlash from all quarters because of ex-English cricketer Kevin Pietersen being given the honor to speak his views. With all respect to Pietersen's credentials as a successful cricketer and wonderful ambassador of the game, the criticism mainly drew from the fact that he was the first non-Indian to do so, with the first five lectures given by legendary Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Farokh Engineer in the respective order.

Although, after his address to the esteemed audience of BCCI officials and other cricketing dignitaries in Bengaluru last night, the former standoffish attitude to KP's appointment was curbed as he offered his insight on how the boards can go about preserving the oldest format of cricket, among other things. Here are the three major talking points from the flamboyant batsman's speech who recently hung his boots from domestic cricket.

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#1 Test cricket remains summit

The amount of anticipation and excitement in this picture exceeds anything you get to see in the hit-and-giggle T20

"Trust me, there is no feeling like the exhaustion, the excitement, the sense of wonder at waking up on the final day of a Test match knowing that any result is possible. The aching thighs. The mental fatigue. The fear. And the possibility that this will be the day."

Pietersen has been a Twenty20 globetrotter and has had the fortune to feature in more than a hundred Tests. There is perhaps no better person to give views on the contrast between the formats and how they stack up against each other, especially in an age where the red ball variant of cricket is on the verge of an untimely demise.

He spoke about how it still remains the best form of cricket even in the face of the T20 flux, and indeed, even today a true cricket fan gets more exhilaration from five days of hard-fought cricket ending in a tense draw than a T20 tie decided by six-ball-a-side eliminators, where often flukes win matches.

He said, speaking of T20 cricket, "But it offers the cricketing buzz without the full sting. Wickets are less precious. Risks are taken without the same downside. There is less character and technique required. Few players have ever been met with the wrath of an entire population simply for getting out to an injudicious shot early in a T20 innings."

#2 How to sustain Test cricket?

The first ever day-night test was quite a spectacle and now it has become a raging social event at the Adelaide Oval every year.

"Is there a game anywhere quite like Test cricket in which so many people are passionate despite rarely attending a game in person? We need to get them back through the turnstiles. It's better for the players, the sponsors, and television...Let's throw equal marketing clout behind the Test game before we succumb to the lazy assumption that T20 rules."

Speaking of methods required to achieve preservation of Tests, Pietersen reiterated the ideas that have been proclaimed over the last few years but called for the better execution of them by the cricket boards. In what was the highlight of his lecture, he urged cricket administrators to promote Test cricket because that is the only way people will be drawn to that format of the game, with persistent marketing.

He called for more day-night games, which was perhaps a brave remark to make considering that he brought up pink-ball cricket in an audience that majorly comprised people who have always been reluctant to that idea. Nevertheless, cricket under floodlights has had a very exciting start to it as there have been close finishes, a whole new brand of an audience and the whole new bunch of strategies that are now applied, the most notorious of them being tactical declarations to get the advantage of bowling under the lights.

Pietersen was also keen on incentivizing the game via contextualization and affordability, as he remarked, "Let's make every game count. Push the profile of the World Test Championship. Develop marketing opportunities. Offer cheaper seats in the ground to provide a better spectacle for TV viewers."

#3 Luring in the cricketers

The day cricket changed forever, and perhaps not in the right direction.

"Let's not kid ourselves that players will choose a classical art form over something requiring less effort that attracts greater rewards. When the greatest players can attract the greatest income by playing the greatest form of the game, then we will see nothing less than a renaissance in Test cricket."

In what has been a major concern over the last decade or so, particularly since the advent of the IPL, the trade-off for cricketers between the grind of test cricket in situations of unforgiving mental and physical toll, and the glamorous realm of sticking to purely white ball formats has been tilting in the latter's favour.

Expressing concern about this, Pietersen requested the cricketing authorities to take the initiative for greater participation in tests and for cricketers to prioritize the traditional forms of the game over anything. He suggested the move of attracting the players with greater financial gains from playing tests, and in an age of professionalism and increasing franchise cricket, a surge in pay-scales of test cricketer is bound to make the increasingly dimming interest of players skyrocket north.

Citing the example of worldwide adored teen sensation Rashid Khan, he said, "How do you ensure that Rashid Khan and his fellow stars in this room commit to Test cricket? How do you push them towards a career where they truly care about the five-day game?

"It's remarkably simple. Ensure that it becomes their priority. They are professionals. They are brands in their own right..."