Aakash Chopra has called the move for the South Africa-India series to have only two Tests a “travesty”.

Every team plays a total of six series each in the 2023-25 World Test Championship, including three at home and three away. Of the 27 series that will be played between the nine teams competing in the ongoing WTC cycle, 18 tours will comprise of just two Tests.

All three home series in South Africa have been reduced to two Tests, beginning with the matches against India that began on Boxing Day at Centurion. The Proteas will also play only two Tests in all three away tours, in Bangladesh, New Zealand and West Indies.

India, on the other hand, will host Bangladesh for a two-match Test series. They toured West Indies in June-July for a series that had two games as well.

Former India opener Chopra has shared his opinion on the increasing number of two-match Test series. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to write: “In the WTC Cycle…every country must play 6 series. ‘Series’ is the key operative word here. The minimum requirement to call any engagement a ‘series’ is to play two-tests. Therefore, you see a lot of 2-Test series (otherwise a lot of teams will be happy to play one-Test and move on).”

He also expressed his views on the shortened South Africa-India Test series. This is the first time since 2009/10 that the two teams will play a series of two Tests and the first time since 2001/02 that two Tests will be played on the tour in South Africa.

In the WTC Cycle…every country must play 6 series. ‘Series’ is the key operative word here. The minimum requirement to call any engagement a ‘series’ is to play two-tests. Therefore, you see a lot of 2-Test series (otherwise a lot of teams will be happy to play one-Test and move…

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 26, 2023

“But having an India-SA Test series of just two games is a travesty. Before you point your guns at the BCCI…please to note — India doesn’t make a penny out of this tour. The monies are for SA to keep.”

According to reports, Cricket South Africa pushed for a two-match Test series to avoid India’s tour clashing with the second edition of the SA20, which will begin on January 10. The second Test between the two teams will end three days earlier.

Earlier this year, former South Africa skipper Dean Elgar lamented the limited Test opportunities for the side. “I think (it’s a) disappointing fact that we aren’t playing more Tests these coming years and obviously there’s a lot of players that would like to be playing a lot more. Again, we can’t make those decisions. It would be nice if we could have a massive influence in that. But, yeah, I guess the administrators of the game back home feel that we need to obviously establish something in order to have revenue going forward.”

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