Make cricket fan-friendly, says Sri Lanka’s captain

Colombo, July 11 (AFP): Sri Lanka’s captain Kumar Sangakkara has urged world cricket chiefs to win back fans to Test and one-day games with a balanced international calendar that gives equal opportunities to all teams.

Sangakkara said global viewership of the sport had dwindled over the past year, despite a packed schedule of Tests, one-dayers and Twenty20 cricket.

“I am told about 40 percent of viewership has dropped for Tests,” Sangakkara told AFP in an interview. “It has dropped for one-dayers and T20 too.”

According to Sangakkara the rise of Twenty20 cricket has made the one- and five-day games look like the boring siblings of the cricket family.

Sangakkara, 32, welcomed suggestions for jazzing up Test cricket through night games or a world championship, which could attract viewers and sponsors.

“We can’t just ignore the consumers,” he said.

“Ultimately its sponsorship that generates revenue for the boards.”