It's 9.30am at the Wankhede Stadium in India where the home side and former national champions Mumbai are about to start their crucial match with current champions Delhi. There are international stars a-plenty on show, yet the number of people in the crowd can be counted on fingers.

If ever there was a stark indication of the falling number of spectators in the domestic game, this is it. It's a different story for international matches, where hordes of people turn out for one-day action - both the 50-over and Twenty20 versions.

Like many Indians, I grew up playing and following the game in great detail - I'd regularly sneak a small radio into school to keep track of the latest scores - and with the advent of television my friends and I were thrilled to get the chance to watch India's Test series with England and Australia, where there were invariably massive crowds.

'The instant game works hand in hand with Test cricket, giving it an adaptability in countries where the climate and lack of facilities mean the longer version is not a feasible option'


But can we really blame "instant cricket" for the decline of the Test game? Test cricket over the years has enjoyed a unique fan following all over the world where the game is passionately lapped up by fans.

In my view, the instant game works hand in hand with Test cricket, giving an adaptability in countries and regions where the climate and lack of facilities mean the longer version is not a feasible option. The short game is also a way of promoting cricket in countries where it isn't historically popular.

If anything, the rise of Twenty20 cricket has increased interest in the game, in all its forms. With its coloured clothing and white ball - both hailing from the Kerry Packer era of the 1970s - as well as having no breaks in the game and blaring music, Twenty20 has been a big hit in England where it originated.

You also need to look at the way fans are attracted to a particular sport. When a national team does well, the fan following naturally increases. There is clear evidence of that in the way the game's popularity swelled in England after their Andrew Flintoff-inspired Ashes win in 2005. The team's decline since that pinnacle has seen interest wane.

Then there is the rise in popularity of other sports. Fans can be divided into two distinct sets: there is the older generation, who have been going to cricket all their lives, and a younger group which has had the onset of a massive boom in football to distract it from other sports.

I feel that cricket is a product which has to become attractive to people of all ages, and in different countries you need to package it to cater to different tastes - something which the short game enables it to do.

With cricket currently changing at a rapid pace, I don't see it as a sign that Test interest is on the wane. With an uncertain future ahead, the game needs to be made into a package with ingredients which make it attractive to all ages and audiences - and twenty20 cricket does just that.