Sri Lanka legend Aravinda de Silva is confident Test cricket will never die out despite the rising popularity of shorter formats of the game such as Twenty20.

The 42-year-old is preparing to manage a Sri Lanka team at the Cricket Sixes World Series in Singapore in July and even though he is a firm supporter of cricket's shortest form, he believes the five-day version is here to stay.

"I think that Test cricket will always survive because it's the game that will always bring the best out of a player," De Silva.

"The character of a player, his mental aspect and his fitness - all of that is addressed during the course of a Test match.

"It is the ultimate form of the game and that's why it will never die and will always create some sort of excitement."

However, De Silva does not hold the same optimism for 50-over cricket.

"One-day cricket is the version of the game that I'm more concerned about right now," he said.

"It was very hot, just like Twenty20 is now, when it started and it remained popular for a good 20 to 25 years.

"But after a while its popularity died off and it could continue to struggle with the growing popularity of the other formats."

De Silva is confident Sixes, which involves six-player teams and innings of five overs maximum, requires far more skill than the big-hitting Twenty20.

"There's a lot of power hitting in Twenty20 and it feels like you need a lot of brute strength to survive, but in Sixes you can see a lot more individual skill," he said.

"Even the delicate players can do well in Sixes because there are only five fielders so you can use your touch and ability to try and score runs.

"It doesn't take very long to play and you don't need to have too many players so it is an ideal concept for developing cricket in countries where it is still a lesser-known sport."

He added: "I think it's a very exciting concept and it's always good to develop another concept to keep the interest of youngsters, which is important for us in the continued development of the sport."