Long form loss for big cities

Spectators soak in the atmosphere at the Wankhede Stadium as India and England slug it out during the Mumbai Test on December 9, 2016. Pic/midday archives

The BCCI's decision to grant India v England Test matches to Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala is akin to a national selection committee picking a fairly inexperienced team for a high-profile series.

While there is a need for Test cricket to be promoted at smaller centres like the above (and Vizag attracted a good number of spectators), to give "lesser experienced" Test centres four of the five Tests in a big series is extraordinary, if not odd or absurd.

None of the big cities that enjoy a rich history of Test match cricket have been given a Test this season, leaving cricket enthusiasts of the traditional game there to cringe.

Mumbai is where home Tests started for India - with Douglas Jardine's English team in 1933-34, at the Bombay Gymkhana; a venue which by the way will celebrate 150 years of existence next year. A Brabourne Stadium Test occupied pride of place on the Indian cricket calendar and it was at the Wankhede Stadium where some of Indian cricket's golden moments unfolded. I'm thinking about the sixth Text against Australia in 1979-80, where India, led by Sunil Gavaskar, won its first Test series against Australia - over Kim Hughes's team.

Can you guess when Mumbai last hosted a Test against Australia? It was way back in 2004, when stand-in captain Rahul Dravid's side clinched a consolation Test win over the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series-winning men from Down Under.

Across the last 35 Tests (starting from the India v England Rajkot Test of 2016-17) played on Indian soil, Australia have toured twice, but Mumbai didn't get picked as a venue. During this period, they have hosted England in 2016-17 and New Zealand in 2021-22.

Anish de Souza, the founder of the North Stand Gang - Wankhede, told me on Wednesday that his fan group agreed with Virat Kohli when he said in 2019 that Test matches should be restricted to five centres. "India should follow the pattern wherein there will be a Test at Lord's, Sydney and Melbourne, come what may. Cape Town always has a New Year Test. There used to be the Pongal [festival] Test match at Chennai, which is now lost," remarked Anish.

The then India captain was quoted as saying at the end of the 2019-20 Ranchi Test against South Africa: "We've been discussing this for a long time now, and in my opinion, we should have five Test centres, period. I agree [with] state associations and rotation and giving games and all that, that is fine for T20 and one-day cricket, but Test cricket, teams coming to India should know, ‘we're going to play at these five centres, these are the pitches we're going to expect, these are the kind of people that will come to watch, crowds,' "

Anish accepted that cricket has to be promoted across the country but felt this can be best done through limited overs cricket. He had no issues with the major centres not getting matches in the shorter forms of the game, as long as they get awarded Tests regularly.

Kolkata is another significant venue which is not a constant in a home series. Like Mumbai and Delhi, the Eden Gardens has been allotted only two Tests in the last eight years. It is worth mentioning that the City of Joy is India's second "senior-most" venue, having hosted the second India v England Test on Indian soil in 1933-34. Kolkattans haven't been to a home Test since Bangladesh came visiting in late 2019, and that allotment could well have been made due to their geographical proximity to Dhaka. We are talking about a venue whose atmosphere is compared to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

As mentioned in an earlier column, it is astounding that Kolkata has not witnessed a Test featuring Australia since that epic game in 2001, when India stunned Australia despite following on; best described by then India coach John Wright as "The Greatest Comeback Since Lazarus."

In another era, a series without a Test in Chennai was unthinkable. It is in this southern city that India won its first-ever Test match - against the MCC in 1951-52 - when Vinoo Mankad spun India to victory with 12 wickets in the game.

Apart from the two back-to-back Tests against England held at Chennai in 2020-21 (followed by a couple at Ahmedabad) amidst Covid fears/convenience, the MA Chidambaram has rolled out the carpet for only one Test in the last eight seasons - against England in 2016-17.

The Tied Test 1986 venue once hosted six Tests across eight years seasons - v Australia in 1998, v Pakistan in 1999, v Australia in 2001, v West Indies in 2002, Australia in 2004 and Sri Lanka in 2005.

Meanwhile, Rajkot and Ranchi - venues of the third and fourth Tests against England - are all set to conduct their third Test in eight seasons. At the risk of sounding trivial, this is more than Mumbai in that time frame. Lopsided or unfair? Probably both.

mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello

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