Veteran Windies batsman Chris Gayle has admitted he is not a fan of the proposed four-day Test cricket format, insisting that shortening the game would lessen some of its appeal.

Gayle, who has scored a total of 7214 runs in 104 Test matches, with a high score of 333, is no stranger to the format.  The player last set foot in the Test area six years ago but has not lost the affinity for the grueling nature of the longest format.

It is of little surprise that Gayle recently added his voice to the throng of players and former players that have come out strongly against the possibility of reducing five-day Test matches to four-dayers.  The topic is expected to be discussed by the ICC over the next few months.

“I am not a fan of that (four-day Tests). I played 100 Tests, I mean a few finished in three days, a few in four but five days Test cricket is the ultimate and to have a four-day Test…I am not a big fan of that,” Gayle said.

“It has set the trend and it’s been there for ages so why go and mess with that. If they give other players a chance to experience that, it can be a life-changing experience to play five-day cricket. It is a mental state so that you can cope in life as well,” said Gayle.

 Indian captain Virat Kohli, South African skipper Faf du Plessis, English captain Joe Root and Indian great Sachin Tendulkar are among the other players to have spoken out in opposition to the change.