'Five Test Centres at Max': Virat Kohli's 2019 Vision Resurfaces as Rain Disrupts India-Bangladesh Test in Kanpur: WATCH

As Day 2 of the second Test between India and Bangladesh is washed out due to incessant rain, questions continue to be asked regarding the scheduling of games and the selection of venues. The Indian ace-batter, Virat Kohli had already spoken about this back in 2019 where the video of the same has resurfaced on social media.

Kohli who was the captain of the side in 2019, was seen addressing the media at a press conference where he revealed his take about India having ‘five Test centres’ which would host all of India’s five-day games.

“We’ve been discussing this for a long time now. And in my opinion, we should have five Test centres period. I agree with State Associations, rotations and you know giving games and all that, that is fine for T20 and One-day Cricket, but Test Cricket, teams that are coming in should know, we are going to play at these five centres, these are the pitches we’re going to expect, these are the kind of people that come to watch, crowds you know,” Kohli said.

As per a report by ESPNCricinfo, India’s home games follow a rotation policy for all three formats. A policy that is followed even today. Kanpur hosted their first Test match since November 2021, where the Indian side took on New Zealand.

Kohli believes that with five designated Test venues, the visiting sides would have an idea of what the conditions would be like and the atmosphere with the crowds as well which could be a challenge for the visiting teams.

“That becomes a challenge already when you are leaving the shores because we go to any place we know we’re going to have four Test matches in these venues, this is what the pitch is going to offer, going to be a full stadium, and crowds behind the team,” he added.

The Indian skipper at the time suggested the move to keep Test cricket alive as a relevant format during times when T20 cricket takes precedence when it comes to popularity.

“Look you want to keep Test cricket alive and exciting, I totally agree with the fact that we need five Test centres at max. It can’t be sporadic and spread over so many places where people turn up or they don’t,” he concluded.

Games being washed out is not a sight neither the fans nor the players would want to see. Currently, as a result of the second day’s play being washed out, India’s chances of securing a spot in the ongoing World Test Championship campaign become harder as they would need to win as many as five games in the remaining eight Tests should the Kanpur Test finish as a draw.

Their coming games would not be any pushovers as they take on New Zealand in a three-match series at home followed by a tour to Australia in a five-match affair to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.