NEW DELHI: Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has expressed concern about the future of Test cricket after India failed to chase a 124-run target against South Africa in the first Test, getting bowled out for 93 as the match ended inside just three days at Eden Gardens.

Manjrekar stressed that the technique required to spend long periods at the crease is gradually disappearing due to the growing dominance of T20 cricket and franchise leagues around the world.

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"The writing has been on the wall for a while and we weren't willing to pay attention to it," Manjrekar said on Instagram after the defeat. "Tests have slowly but surely become the least favoured format for everyone involved, especially the players coming through the ranks."

"It is the last priority compared to T20s, private leagues and 50-overs cricket. Tests are the only format that forces you to sharpen your defensive skills," he said.

Manjrekar pointed out that up until the early 2000s, batters were almost "obsessed" with building a strong defensive game because Test cricket was the ultimate format. But with the longest format now slipping to a "third priority," he said players are no longer trained or mentally conditioned to survive sustained periods of high-quality bowling.

"Defence becomes the last priority for a player, which means a batter's ability to keep the good balls away is diminishing."

"Ask them to hit the ball into the second tier of the stands and every batter today will be able to do it. But to keep good balls away is a tough one... they cannot be blamed for that. It is just how cricket has panned out."

Manjrekar believes that bringing back competitive Test cricket will require a change in pitch philosophy.

"If you want to see a good Test series, the time has come for us to have pitches like we had in England. That is why we had a great series to watch."