It was not so long ago that a near comical discussion between Gary Kirsten, then India’s coach, and Neil Manthorp, the veteran South African broadcaster and journalist, happened within earshot. It began calmly enough but the genial Kirsten was as animated as he had ever been while insisting that he had been to more Test matches at Kanpur than any other South African.
It was worn like a badge of honour. Manthorp reeled off the years: 1996 (India won by 280 runs), 2004 (drawn) and 2008 (India won by eight wickets). It was unclear who the loser was as Manthorp had also covered ODIs in Kanpur, but the consensus was that there were no winners.
South Africa certainly saw a lot of Kanpur but in recent times so have Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Already the farce has begun, with one stand at the Green Park Stadium being deemed unsafe and therefore unfit for use. That wiped out 1,700 of a potential 4,800 tickets that could have been made available to the public. This is no Coldplay concert, but even then this is egregious.
“This stand won’t be able to take the weight of even 50 fans, if they start jumping after Rishabh Pant hits a six. This part of the stadium is in dire need of repair,” a Public Works Department engineer was quoted as saying by the Indian Express newspaper.
But, of course, the Test match will be played there even as blame is shifted and the paying public is put last on the list of priorities.
Earlier this month, the one-off Afghanistan-New Zealand Test match at Greater Noida was abandoned without a ball being bowled because the ground simply did not have the drainage facilities required at Ranji Trophy level, forget about international cricket.
Afghanistan, who were designated hosts of that match, chose the venue for logistical reasons — proximity to Delhi, ease of travel from Afghanistan and so on — but that does not excuse the world’s richest board allowing a venue to host Test cricket without meeting minimum infrastructure standards.
To put it in perspective, the India-Bangladesh Test beginning in Kanpur today (September 27) will be the 2552nd in history. Only seven of those had been abandoned without a ball being bowled before the Greater Noida fiasco.
But, these are just the two recent instances of the bizarre manner in which Tests are allotted in India. Ask most people alive today what the greatest Test on Indian soil was and they will say India vs Australia at Eden Gardens in 2001. Yes, that Test with VVS Laxman’s 281, Rahul Dravid’s 180 and Harbhajan Singh’s hat-trick heroics. How many times have Australia played a Test there after? Never.
Before you ask, Australia since came to India for Test tours in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2023. It beggars belief, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s truth is occasionally stranger than the rest of the world’s fiction.
England, the other big draw in Test cricket, have not played in Bangalore since 2001. They have the largest travelling fan base, the Barmy Army, whose love for lager matches their romance with cricket. So, naturally they must be denied matches in a tipple-friendly stadium at the home of India’s most famous beer.
But, jokes apart, Bangalore is a venue that has always supported Test cricket and it does not deserve to be deprived of a marquee game for 23 years on the basis of a system of allotment that nobody understands. Similarly, it’s been 12 years since Mumbai have hosted England.
It is great to have sponsors jostling with each other for a piece of the action, millions of fans desperate to take in the game, and players popping up in every corner of the country to take a place that opens up. What you do not need an oversupply of is Test grounds.
Australia, England and South Africa each have less than 10 Test venues. In India, Tests have been played in 29 venues, 19 new ones since 2000 and there are grounds still waiting their turn to host their first Test.
The argument in favour of so many venues is that India is a large country and to grow the game you must take Test cricket everywhere. This is, of course, nonsense, because now T20Is, and earlier ODIs, could have been that vehicle.
Earlier, there used to be at least a notional rotation system in place. And this meant each venue waiting its turn and therefore the best matches not always going to the best venues. But that has long since gone out the window, as is obvious with one ground getting all the biggest games across formats, without fail.
So, just why this farcical situation? Add this to the long list of imponderables that bless India and its cricket board.
It was worn like a badge of honour. Manthorp reeled off the years: 1996 (India won by 280 runs), 2004 (drawn) and 2008 (India won by eight wickets). It was unclear who the loser was as Manthorp had also covered ODIs in Kanpur, but the consensus was that there were no winners.
South Africa certainly saw a lot of Kanpur but in recent times so have Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Already the farce has begun, with one stand at the Green Park Stadium being deemed unsafe and therefore unfit for use. That wiped out 1,700 of a potential 4,800 tickets that could have been made available to the public. This is no Coldplay concert, but even then this is egregious.
“This stand won’t be able to take the weight of even 50 fans, if they start jumping after Rishabh Pant hits a six. This part of the stadium is in dire need of repair,” a Public Works Department engineer was quoted as saying by the Indian Express newspaper.
But, of course, the Test match will be played there even as blame is shifted and the paying public is put last on the list of priorities.
Earlier this month, the one-off Afghanistan-New Zealand Test match at Greater Noida was abandoned without a ball being bowled because the ground simply did not have the drainage facilities required at Ranji Trophy level, forget about international cricket.
Afghanistan, who were designated hosts of that match, chose the venue for logistical reasons — proximity to Delhi, ease of travel from Afghanistan and so on — but that does not excuse the world’s richest board allowing a venue to host Test cricket without meeting minimum infrastructure standards.
To put it in perspective, the India-Bangladesh Test beginning in Kanpur today (September 27) will be the 2552nd in history. Only seven of those had been abandoned without a ball being bowled before the Greater Noida fiasco.
But, these are just the two recent instances of the bizarre manner in which Tests are allotted in India. Ask most people alive today what the greatest Test on Indian soil was and they will say India vs Australia at Eden Gardens in 2001. Yes, that Test with VVS Laxman’s 281, Rahul Dravid’s 180 and Harbhajan Singh’s hat-trick heroics. How many times have Australia played a Test there after? Never.
Before you ask, Australia since came to India for Test tours in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2023. It beggars belief, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s truth is occasionally stranger than the rest of the world’s fiction.
England, the other big draw in Test cricket, have not played in Bangalore since 2001. They have the largest travelling fan base, the Barmy Army, whose love for lager matches their romance with cricket. So, naturally they must be denied matches in a tipple-friendly stadium at the home of India’s most famous beer.
But, jokes apart, Bangalore is a venue that has always supported Test cricket and it does not deserve to be deprived of a marquee game for 23 years on the basis of a system of allotment that nobody understands. Similarly, it’s been 12 years since Mumbai have hosted England.
It is great to have sponsors jostling with each other for a piece of the action, millions of fans desperate to take in the game, and players popping up in every corner of the country to take a place that opens up. What you do not need an oversupply of is Test grounds.
Australia, England and South Africa each have less than 10 Test venues. In India, Tests have been played in 29 venues, 19 new ones since 2000 and there are grounds still waiting their turn to host their first Test.
The argument in favour of so many venues is that India is a large country and to grow the game you must take Test cricket everywhere. This is, of course, nonsense, because now T20Is, and earlier ODIs, could have been that vehicle.
Earlier, there used to be at least a notional rotation system in place. And this meant each venue waiting its turn and therefore the best matches not always going to the best venues. But that has long since gone out the window, as is obvious with one ground getting all the biggest games across formats, without fail.
So, just why this farcical situation? Add this to the long list of imponderables that bless India and its cricket board.
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