The Kanpur Test has rekindled an old debate. Is it wise to have only a limited number of Test centres in a country or if Test cricket is better served if it is spread to the smaller centres as well?

Ravichandran Ashwin faced that question at the media conference after the end of the second Test against Bangladesh which India won by seven wickets. The venue, the Green Park Stadium, came under criticism for its poor drainage system after full two days of play was lost in the game.

Ashwin refused to commit to any particular opinion, but from what he said, one can infer that the off-spinner, very subtly, said what he had to say.

“Does it help a player if you have just a few Test centres? Most certainly it does,”
Ashwin said, adding: “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 for his tally of 11 wickets over two matches, said.

Virat Kohli had suggested a few years ago that India should have five major Test centres like Australia and England.

Ashwin, however, also touched upon the benefits of hosting Tests at smaller centres.

“Firstly, what are the benefits that Indian cricketers attain by having so many Test centres... you have got cricketers who come and play Test cricket from every nook and corner of this country. It 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,” he said. f

But Ashwin said that while hosting a Test match, there shouldn’t be any compromise with the required facilities. “...There are certain requisite ingredients that go into making a Test match happen. Like, for the weather and the kind of drainage that we need to be able to invest on. These are no-brainers.”