On Day 3, dampness in the outfield prevented the start of play. (FILE Photo)
The biggest test for India at Kanpur Test didn’t come from the opponents but from the wet conditions prevalent in the stadium that wiped out two-and-half-days of play. It has triggered a raging debate whether India should restrict their Test centres to a few venues. R Ashwin had his say on the matter.
He began with a positive: “Firstly, the benefits that Indian cricketers attain by having so many Test centres is you have got cricketers who come and play Test cricket from every nook and corner of this country. It is a huge country and it has triggered that sort of urgency and that sort of passion amongst cricketers to be able to come and play for this country. That is a big positive.”
But he delved into the cons of playing cricket at ill-equipped venues. “The second of it is there are certain requisite ingredients that go into making a Test match happen. Like for the weather and the kind of drainage that we need to be able to invest in. These are no-brainers.”
Should India also adopt the strategy of Australia and England of playing Tests at specified venues?
“Does it help a player if you have just a few test centres? Most certainly it does. Because when we go to Australia, they play India only at five test centres. They don’t play us at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. They don’t play us at any of the other venues there. They won’t be very familiar with the conditions. So do England. They have certain select Test centres and that’s where they play. Some of those are only white ball centres.”
Can India do the same here? Ashwin turned coy. “Can we do it here? That’s above my pay grade. I cannot comment on that,” he concluded.”
In 2019, in Ranchi, during a series against South Africa the former captain Virat Kohli had spoken about the need to play Tests only in five centres.
“”In my opinion, we should have five Test centres, period,” Kohli had said. Five years down the line, courtesy Kanpur that debate has been reignited.
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