5 reasons why two-match Test series should be scrapped

The benefit to the players involved

Longer series judge players for consistency; shorter ones don't

Good players are measured by their performance in one or two series. Great players are measured by their consistency, by whether they could deliver match-after-match, series-after-series on a regular basis.

In a two-match Test series, whether a player has it in him to stand up and perform in every game becomes difficult to judge. I go back again to India's tour to England in 2014.

In that case, Bhuvneshwar Kumar started superbly by picking two five-wicket hauls in the first two matches but then tapered off later on simply because the grind of a five-match series began to take a toll, and could finish with only 14 wickets in the series.

On the contrary, someone like a James Anderson had a slower start to the series but lifted himself soon and ended as the highest wicket-taker with 25 scalps to his name.

Shorter series do not help us measure the sustainability of a player over a certain period of time.