"In my opinion we should have five Test centres, period" - When Virat Kohli firmly backed the idea of India having limited Test venues
The second Test between India and Bangladesh at Green Park in Kanpur has been marred due to rain. Only 35 overs of play have been possible so far in the Test match. After a curtailed Day 1 in Kanpur, play on Day 2 and Day 3 had to be completely abandoned due to wet outfield.
In the wake of the fiasco in the Kanpur Test, a debate has reignited over whether Test cricket in India should be limited to just five prominent venues. Incidentally, back in October 2019, Virat Kohli had firmly backed the idea of India playing Test cricket at only five venues. The 35-year-old, who was the captain back then, had opined that teams visiting the country should know where they are going to play.
Responding to a query on whether India should play their home Tests at major venues like Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bengaluru, Kohli had said (as quoted by ESPNcricinfo):
"We've been discussing this for a long time now, and in my opinion we should have five Test centres, period. I mean, 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'.
"So that becomes a challenge already, when you're leaving your shores, because we go to any place, we know we're having four Test matches in these venues, this is what the pitch is going to offer, it's going to be a full stadium, the crowd's behind the [home] team, and look, you want to keep Test cricket alive and exciting. I totally agree with the fact that we need five Test centres at the max," he had added.
"It can't be sporadic and spread over so many places where people turn up or they don't, so in my opinion, absolutely. You should have five strong Test centres that teams coming to India know that this is where they're going to play," Kohli had commented, while concluding his views.
India follow a rotation policy to allot their home games. After the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur, the hosts will play three Tests against New Zealand in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai, respectively.
Dinesh Karthik wants Test cricket to continue being played in smaller centres
Unlike what Kohli said back in 2019, former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is of the opinion that Test cricket must be played in smaller cities as well. He claimed that smaller centres attract bigger crowds. During a discussion on Cricbuzz, Karthik said:
"What happens when you nominate five centres in a place like India in Tier 1 cities, it is a fact that there has been a dwindling amount of interest in the Test format. So, even if you host a Test in one of the major centres, the fact is people are not watching Test cricket. Sometimes on TV it does not paint the right picture."
With two days of the second Test between India and Bangladesh being completely washed out, the Kanpur clash seems headed for a draw, though the weather forecast for Monday is much brighter.