While he feels there are a few positives to playing at different venues, he took the example of how England and Australia have fixed Test centres
In the aftermath of a match that forced India to play an extreme kind of Test cricket – scoring their first-innings runs at almost nine an over and declaring after 34.4 – to secure the result they wanted because of days lost to rain and poor drainage in Kanpur, there has been a heightened focus on whether Test match cricket in India needs to be held at only the major centres. R Ashwin weighed in on that debate on Monday at the end of play.
“Firstly, what are the benefits that Indian cricketers has attained by having so many Test centres is you have got cricketers who come and play Test cricket from every nook and corner of this country,” he said. “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.
“The second is there are certain requisite ingredients that goes 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.
“But having said all this, does it help a player if you have just a few Test centres? Most certainly it does. Because when we go to Australia, they play India only at five Test centres. They don’t play us at the Manuka Oval 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 certain select Test centres and that’s where they play. Some of those are only white-ball centres. Can we do it here? That’s above my pay grade. I cannot comment on that.”
What Ashwin had strong words on was the quality of India’s bowling attack. No one took more than three wickets in either of the innings, but collectively, they bowled Bangladesh out in just 121.2 overs.
“Each one of those bowlers that bowled along with me, alongside me, have the ability to hold on to a game, bowl with discipline and yet produce wicket-taking balls,” he said. “When we talk things like this, we have to be able to understand the finer nuances of the game to get what I am saying. It is not just their ability alone, it is also the belief of the entire team.
“When Rohit [Sharma] says that you make 400 [to the batters], try and make a game out of it, it tells you that the captain believes the bowlers will get the job done. I believe in my bowlers. These bowlers have done it day in and day out. And they have the ability to pick 20 wickets. So, having that as one, you will encounter situations where batters do dominate against our bowling attack as well. It is only given in this game. But the bowling attack is quite special. And I really do hope that this legacy of bowling is taken forward.”
India have the comfort of playing both Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in Test matches at home. In less than two months, they’ll be flying to Australia where it is very likely that they’ll have to choose between the two of them. How do they cope with that situation?
“It is very simple for me. If he plays, I will bad mouth him all day, all night,” Ashwin joked. “I have repeated this again and again. It doesn’t cross my head anymore at all. If he is the one that has to play, he is the one that has to play. I have complete faith and I have got his back when he goes out there to play. Going to another country, especially a country like Australia or England, and your team putting in an extraordinary performance and you winning a Test match, makes me an incredibly proud Indian. So, for me, [it’s about] putting a larger cause in front.
“He is the second left-arm spinner to 300 wickets. I think he has got 3000 runs. These are no mean achievements. It is just that sometimes when you miss out, you feel you are missing out. And nobody likes missing out. But the fact is, India is blessed to have two bowlers who can play in the same spot and are good enough. So, it doesn’t cross my mind. It used to once upon a time. I might be lying if I said I didn’t because we all want to play. But it doesn’t anymore. Because the larger goal is at the forefront of my mind.”
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
