Long form loss for big cities

The BCCIrsquos 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 highprofile seriesWhile 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 ldquolesser experiencedrdquo Test centres four of the five Tests in a big series is extraordinary if not odd or absurdNone 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 cringeMumbai is where home Tests started for Indiamdashwith Douglas Jardinersquos English team in 193334 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 cricketrsquos golden moments unfolded Irsquom thinking about the sixth Text against Australia in 197980 where India led by Sunil Gavaskar won its first Test series against Australiamdashover Kim Hughesrsquos teamCan you guess when Mumbai last hosted a Test against Australia It was way back in 2004 when standin captain Rahul Dravidrsquos side clinched a consolation Test win over the BorderGavaskar Trophy serieswinning men from Down UnderAcross the last 35 Tests starting from the India v England Rajkot Test of 201617 played on Indian soil Australia have toured twice but Mumbai didnrsquot get picked as a venue During this period they have hosted England in 201617 and New Zealand in 202122Anish de Souza the founder of the North Stand GangmdashWankhede 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 ldquoIndia should follow the pattern wherein there will be a Test at Lordrsquos 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 lostrdquo remarked AnishThe then India captain was quoted as saying at the end of the 201920 Ranchi Test against South Africa ldquoWersquove 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 oneday cricket but Test cricket teams coming to India should know lsquowersquore going to play at these five centres these are the pitches wersquore going to expect these are the kind of people that will come to watch crowdsrsquo rdquoAnish 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 regularlyKolkata 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 Indiarsquos second ldquoseniormostrdquo venue having hosted the second India v England Test on Indian soil in 193334 Kolkattans havenrsquot 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 GroundAs 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 ldquoThe Greatest Comeback Since LazarusrdquoIn another era a series without a Test in Chennai was unthinkable It is in this southern city that India won its firstever Test matchmdashagainst the MCC in 195152mdashwhen Vinoo Mankad spun India to victory with 12 wickets in the gameApart from the two backtoback Tests against England held at Chennai in 202021 followed by a couple at Ahmedabad amidst Covid fearsconvenience the MA Chidambaram has rolled out the carpet for only one Test in the last eight seasonsmdashagainst England in 201617The Tied Test 1986 venue once hosted six Tests across eight years seasons mdashv Australia in 1998 v Pakistan in 1999 v Australia in 2001 v West Indies in 2002 Australia in 2004 and Sri Lanka in 2005Meanwhile Rajkot and Ranchimdashvenues of the third and fourth Tests against Englandmdashare 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 bothmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper