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Cricket Players'If you want to promote Test cricket...': Rohit Sharma quashes Virat Kohli's 2019 proposal ahead of IND vs AUS 3rd Test
Every captain is different. One such instance came to light on the eve of the third Test between India and Australia starting in Indore, when Rohit Sharma refuted one proposal former skipper Virat Kohli had made four years ago.
There has hardly been an endorser for Test cricket quite like Virat Kohli. Now he may not have won an ICC trophy during his seven-year-reign as India captain but the manner in which he transformed Indian cricket is way beyond any silverware. That India won back-to-back Test series in Australia, drew in England, reached the final of the inaugural World Test Championship and finished with the Test mace for five straight years is a testament to Kohli's vision. Hence, that he emerged as India's most successful Test captain was a no-brainer.
However, every captain is different. Kohli believed in pushing for a result, and always playing with five-specialist bowlers, two traits that were not synonymous with his predecessor MS Dhoni. Similarly, Rohit Sharma, who took over from Kohli as India captain, has his own sets of beliefs; ideas that may not necessarily echo the sentiments shared by Virat. One such instance came to light on the eve of the third Test between India and Australia starting in Indore, when Rohit refuted one proposal Kohli had made four years ago.
In October of 2019, the then-captain Kohli had said that he wanted India to play their home Tests at only five venues. Although Kohli did not single out cities, he had insisted that Test matches should be staged in only 'strong Test centres' in India like other countries. The question was asked to Kohli during South Africa's tour of India, which saw the three-Test series being played in Visakhapatnam, Pune and Ranchi.
"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," Kohli had said.
A little over three years later, Rohit is of a totally contrary view and feels that the more Test cricket reaches a wider range of audience and crowd, the better it is for the future of the format. Rohit's comments came after he was asked if the Indian team still believes in the concept floated by Kohli, especially since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia is being played in venues like Nagpur and Indore, both of which have hosted only a handful of Tests in the past.
"All the Test centres we are playing at right now, after Covid we have managed to bring in decent crowd in almost every game. Delhi was quite surprising - the crowd there was superb. We've not seen that many people turn up in even big centres. That's how the other centres started getting Test matches and I feel that if you want to promote Test cricket, it should be played everywhere," Rohit said.
"Why just big centres? We want to take the game to all parts of India. I'm pretty pleased at the venues where Test cricket is being played - places like Dharamsala, Indore. In future, we might see other venues as well. I'm pretty much ok with it as long as we can take Test cricket to every corner in India."
Countries such as England and Australia have five venues set for a big Test series. The BGT and the Ashes are mostly played in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane, whereas in England, the venues hosting a high-profile Test series include Lord's, The Oval, Headingley, Trent Bridge, Manchester and occasionally Edgbaston. Hardly do venues such as Chester-Le-Street in Durham, Taunton, Cardiff stage Test matches. When Kohli had made the statement, in his mind he may have identified Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru as the five strong venues, while mentioning that the move will help Test cricket find a rich and strong base in India.
"It 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," Kohli 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."
