International Cricket Council chief Haroon Lorgat says he is concerned about the dwindling popularity of Test cricket.

Rows after rows of empty stands that greeted Sachin Tendulkar as he scored his world record 12,000th Test run did not escape the eyes of Lorgat, who is in Mohali to see the second test between India and Australia.

"I came a little late and could not see Tendulkar go past Lara but I saw him passing that 12,000-mark but the empty stands are a matter of real concern.

"All of us who came here were concerned at the lack of spectators and this is something we have to look into because we need to promote and protect this form of the game," a worried Lorgat told reporters.

"In Bangalore, we had good crowd but we are disappointed by what we saw here," he rued.

Tendulkar on Friday talked about other youngsters breaking his record at some point of time in future.

Asked if a budding cricketer would really get to play nearly as many Tests as Tendulkar has, Lorgat said, "It's a challenge for us, no doubt about that. Of course there is great attraction for the short forms but it's challenge for us, administrators and member boards to convert that attraction towards Test cricket."

Lorgat's attention was drawn over the fate of the Sri Lanka-England Test series which clashes with the second edition of the Indian Premier League, the place where most Lankan players want to be next May.

The ICC CEO, however, asserted that Test cricket's primacy would not be compromised and also expected BCCI to play a crucial role in finding a way out.

"It's difficult to speculate on the England-Sri Lanka series when a series of discussions are on. I think regardless of that, all members respect Test cricket's primacy. "We still have some time before the series and the issue is being dealt by both the boards. I'm sure BCCI would also support them and everyone would ensure the primacy of Test cricket," he added.

Asked if finding a window for IPL would solve the problem, Lorgat said, "We have not yet discussed that. We are waiting to see how it unfolds...I suspect it will be discussed when a complete review of the Future Tours Programme comes up for discussion."

Lorgat virtually ruled out cricket's immediate inclusion in Olympics, citing a crammed calendar.

"We are already a member of the International Olympic Committee and there is a strong view in favour of cricket's inclusion in Olympics, as well as efforts to resist that because of its possible impact on the calendar. Though there is a move to get the Twenty20 format in Olympics, I think it would be a challenge to reschedule the calendar," he said.

Lorgat also revealed that ICC members would come up with their dope policy soon and out-of-competition tests would also be done.

"We are a full member of the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and all member countries are drafting their code to comply with WADA regulations. By June 2009, the drafts should be put in place.

"At ICC, we have zero tolerance policy towards it and we are going full swing. Tests are already done during tournaments and we would go for out-of-competition testing too," he said.