“India are commercially so reliable for the other nations” - Legendary captain concerned about two-tier Test structure

Former South African captain Graeme Smith has expressed his concerns about the two-tier Test structure. Smith stated that the two-tier structure would make it extremely hard for the other nations.

England, Australia and India are the three boards in discussion for this system. Smith, talking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, said that India are commercially reliable for the other nations.

“I was just looking at a note this morning at how much England and India are playing each other over the next period, and Australia and vice versa. It gets extremely hard for the other nations… India are probably the best because they are commercially so reliable for the other nations," he said (via Indian Express).

Questioning the system, Smith asked where would one see only three nations playing cricket.

“But where do you find the top three nations playing each other all the time? And you can only imagine in the next FTP cycle how that’s been tied up in the background,” he stated.

Speaking against the two-tier system in Test cricket, Smith highlighted the need for nations like South Africa, West Indies, and Sri Lanka to be strong.

“How does the ICC create a structure that’s fair in the top three’s eyes? I think what world cricket needs is, it needs South Africa to be strong, the West Indies to be strong, needs Sri Lanka to get better," he said.

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Smith on South Africa reaching the World Test Championship final

South Africa became the first team to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2025. Smith stated that they need to focus on winning the final.

“We (South Africa) are in the World Test Championship (WTC) final; we’ve got a chance to win the mace. I think that’s the key,” he said.

Smith also added that South Africa's win averages in Tests in recent times have been decent and that the nation has gone about doing what they had to.

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and South Africa has done that. I think over the last couple of years, their win percentages are pretty decent if you go and look over a period of time,” the former South African skipper noted.

South Africa will face Australia in the final of the World Test Championship this time around.