And so we need to get ready for a new cricketer; the journeyman who specialises in T20 and hops from one franchise to another (till a football style global champions league comes into existence). Also, for a new generation to whom Test cricket will no longer be as aspirational as it now is. I’m sure a lot of commercial artists dreamt of painting masterpieces till they said, “Forget it, my calling lies here and it pays for the food on the table.”

I suspect, in the longer term, it will also mean lesser control for the national federations over their players. This desire for control is the only factor that can limit the progress of commercial enterprise for the moment. But if fairly autonomous leagues take shape, it will only be a matter of time before national federations lose control. “You can’t play for your country,” they might thunder till the response is “But I don’t really want to, sir!”

I don’t know how far away this scenario is. As indeed I don’t know how far away we are from creating a window for Test cricket.

(Harsha Bhogle was voted favourite commentator in a global web poll last week)