Iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar  expressed his concern over the diminishing popularity of Test cricket stating that dearth of quality pace bowlers has all but put an end to the iconic duels which once added to the charm to the longer format of the game.

A Sunil Gavaskar vs Andy Roberts or a Dennis Lillee vs Imran Khan was worth the wait during the 1970s and '80s. Similarly a Tendulkar vs Glenn McGrath or Wasim Akram used to be a connoisseur's delight.

But not anymore, feels the man, who played 200 Test matches in his illustrious 24 years in international cricket.

Asked if the competitiveness, as far as Test cricket is concerned, is confined to only three countries (India, Australia and England), the maestro agreed.

"The standard of cricket has gone down which is not great news for Test cricket. The standard needs to go up and for that, I would again say that the root cause is the playing surfaces," he said.

"I think it has also got to do with the kind of pitches that are provided. If we provide fair pitches where fast bowlers as well as spinners get help, then balance between bat and ball will be restored.