'More result, chit-chat will keep Test cricket going'

NEW DELHI: Twenty20 maybe the talk of the town but Mahendra Singh Dhoni does not see Test cricket withering and on the contrary, the Indian ODI captain believes more result and verbal chit-chat would keep the game's longer version alive and kicking.
    
"You cannot force people to watch either Test or one day or Twenty20. I think Test cricket will retain its hardcore fans anyway," Dhoni said on the sidelines of the Twenty20 Champions award.
    
"These days, we are seeing more results in Test cricket which is good. Now we get results in four or four-and-half days and because of the impact of Twenty20 and ODI, batsmen score more freely in Test cricket.
    
"Besides, those verbal chit-chats also make Test cricket exciting," Dhoni said.
    
Looking ahead, Dhoni reckons more and more player would skip events -- whether Test, ODI or Twenty20 -- to prolong their career.
    
"A player would of course need to prioritise things, for he would be knowing his body better than anyone else. A player would come and say "look, I'm not 100 per cent fit and cannot give my best. Someone will miss IPL, someone a Test series...
    
"If you are not 100 per cent fit and not at your best (and still play), it's cheating," Dhoni said.