Ashwin counters Ravi Shastri's remarks on Test cricket 

Former India coach Ravi Shastri had recently suggested that Test cricket should be played among the top three or four teams, stirring a lot of debate. 

However, veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has voiced to keep the longest format relevant for every Test-playing nation. 

Ashwin has 442 Test wickets to his name

Countering his former coach's opinion on his YouTube channel, Ashwin stressed that Shastri's suggestion would shut the door for small teams like Ireland, which, in turn, would jolt cricket's globalisation. 

"Recently, Ravi bhai said Test cricket should be made as a format that only 3-4 nations play. But when 3-4 nations play, teams like Ireland won't get won't get the opportunity to play."

The spin maestro further reverberated the purest format's importance by highlighting its role in evolving the players' T20 game and the first-class set-up of the cricket-playing nations. 

"Only when you play Test cricket, your first-class structure will get better. And players who do well in first-class cricket mould their game according to T20 cricket. That's how cricket has shaped up. 

"How will you strengthen first-class cricket? For that, Test cricket needs to be relevant in your country. If Test cricket is not relevant, they won't play it with full interest."

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