Shamik Chakrabarty in Kanpur
Sticking to five Test centres like England and Australia will not work in this country, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla asserted. This is on the heels of the Kanpur Test damp squib, where two-and-a-half days’ play was washed out due to rain and a wet outfield. Green Park’s facilities have come under the scanner and in this context, Virat Kohli’s opinion of reserving “five strong centres” for home Test series has resurfaced. Shukla, however, defended the BCCI’s rotation policy.
“Here also, we had five centres,” Shukla said. “Those had the status of permanent Test centres. Kanpur was also one of them (Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi being the other four). Then, we have to keep other aspects also in mind.”
Back in 2019, after a Test against South Africa in Ranchi, Kohli, then India captain, had said: “We have been discussing this for a long time now, and in my opinion we should have five Test centres, period.”
Shukla, though, elaborated on why the BCCI will have to go by the rotation policy. “India have got a lot many venues,” he said. “Maximum number of venues we have got, which Australia and other countries don’t have. And we have to provide opportunity to all of them.”
The BCCI’s decision to take Test cricket to smaller centres has a reason. An overdose of cricket in only a handful of venues can kill interest. “Sometimes what happens is that the cities where people get to see a lot many matches – the IPL is also there, the WPL is also there, then World Cup is also there, bilateral matches are also there – so, viewership goes down in those cities, because people are used to watching,” said Shukla. “That’s why the idea was floated that in second-tier cities, where we have got infrastructure, we should organise Test matches.”
He added: “Look at here (in Kanpur), it’s almost packed. Even in rain last two days, a lot of people turned up. That means there is appetite. People are eager to watch cricket. Sometimes it happens, though, we all pray to Lord Indra, not to rain, but, you know, it happens. And it happens all over the world. So, why unnecessarily Kanpur and Green Park are being blamed for something which is in nature’s hand? People should support us.”
Kanpur has been hosting Test cricket since the 1950s, and this is the first time a game was affected by bad weather. Green Park is almost 80 years old and Shukla cited that modern technology was not available when the stadium was built. Lucknow has a modern stadium, with a modern drainage system. “Here (Kanpur) also, we are planning,” he said.
The BCCI vice-president was asked about the 2025 IPL auction, and he dropped a hint that this time also, it could be held overseas. “It may be abroad also,” he said. “Last time we had in Dubai and it went very successfully. The whole idea is to take some element of cricket overseas also, so that overseas cricket fans get attracted.”
It is learnt the IPL has given the franchises two windows – second week of November or the third week of December – for the auction. And Abu Dhabi is considered to be the frontrunner to hold the show.
As regards the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan, the BCCI will follow the Indian government’s directive.
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— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) September 30, 2024
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