'T20 Becoming Business, But Test Cricket Is Still The Pinnacle': Ben Stokes

England Test captain Ben Stokes is one of the best all-rounders in modern-day cricket, however, recognising his heavy workload, the star player had announced his retirement from ODI cricket earlier this year. He played his last ODI against South Africa at his home turf in Durham. Ever his decision to retire from ODI cricket was made public, the debate has started regarding the cricket calendar and how to manage the workload of cricketers so that they play maximum games for their country.

With the emergence of various T20 leagues across the world, bilateral cricket faces the real task to keep itself relevant. The left-handed batter Stokes has said that T20 cricket is now sort of becoming a "business", but Test cricket will continue to be the pinnacle and his main job is to promote the longest format of the game. Earlier, former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri had suggested that only 5-6 teams should play the longest format so that it remains competitive.

"To a certain extent (whether he agrees with Shastri) but also no. You look at the way franchise cricket is going now, there are a lot of franchises that have multiple teams in the world across different countries. Obviously, India, CPL, and South Africa now, you see people having multiple franchise teams," Stokes said in response to an NDTV question during a select media call organised by Amazon Prime, who will be streaming his documentary 'Ben Stokes: Phoenix From The Ashes' from August 26.

"You can say, T20 is now becoming a business for certain people but it is obviously great for the game that things like these are happening, you know it gives a lot more opportunity, there are more opportunities for players than there were 15 years ago. Life outside of cricket,