New Delhi: Star India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin admitted the fact that having a limited number of Test centres helps the players but couldn’t vouch for the idea for India, wittily saying that it is above his pay grade to comment on the matter. The debate took off when the Green Park Stadium of Kanpur was brought under criticism due to a poor drainage system, which resulted in losing two full days of the second Test.
Although India won the game by seven wickets through tactical skills, the issue remains pertinent to address. Ace batter Virat Kohli had suggested a few years back that India should possess five major Test centres like Australia and England. While talking about the same at the end of the day’s play, Ashwin said, “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 in Canberra. They don’t play us at any of the other venues where they won’t be very familiar with the conditions. So do England. They have select Test centres and that’s where they play. Some of those are only white-ball centres. Can we do it here (in India)? That’s above my pay grade. I cannot comment on that,” Ashwin, who was adjudged the Player of the Series said, as quoted by PTI.
For those unversed, the benefit of playing at only selective Test centres is that the players remain familiar with the ground conditions and are exactly aware of what needs to be done at a specific venue.
Talking about two of the greatest Test-playing nations Australia and England, the Aussies follow their tradition of playing at Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide while England opt for London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, and Edgbaston as their major Test centres.
Ashwin on the contrary
Before opining about the benefit of having fewer Test centres, Ashwin elaborated how the game becomes advantageous by being played on different venues in the Test format. He said that the very first benefit of having so many Test centre is that cricketers come to play Test from every “nook and corner” of the country.
“It (India) 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.
The second one was more of a wake-up call for the state cricket authorities whose stadiums lack in specific aspects. He said that there are certain ingredients that go into making a Test happen. “Like, for the weather and the kind of drainage that we need to be able to invest on. These are no-brainers,” Ashwin insisted, making it clear that there should be no compromise on crucial facilities.
Ravi Ashwin hopped on to the discussion of having few Test centres in India like the other countries after Kanpur’s Green Park faced heavy criticism for a poor drainage system that cut short the game by two and a half days. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
