That the Wankhede Stadium has not hosted an India v Australia Test since 2004-05, borders on the unbelievable. BCCI’s rotation policies, more venue options notwithstanding, Mumbai deserves better
Australia’s Justin Langer (centre) chats with India batsmen Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar as they walk off after bad light curtailed Day One of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium on November 3, 2004. Pic/AFP
When was the last time Mumbai hosted an India v Australia Test match? Answer: Long before Sachin Tendulkar—the man who made the rivalry so special—along with late Australia spin legend Shane Warne—retired. The Sourav Ganguly captaincy years had yet to end, India were still being well served by Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble. And the team members were still being coached by New Zealander John Wright, before Greg Chappell entered the scene.
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A baby who was born then would be an adult by now. That gives you a fair idea of how long this wait has been and Mumbai is still waiting for the November 3-5, 2004 game to cease to be the last India v Australia Test held here.
That game ended inside three days and though India won by 13 runs, Australia had already laid their hands on the trophy via their victory in Nagpur, where Adam Gilchrist led them in the absence of injured regular captain Ricky Ponting.
Sure, the pitch in that Wankhede Test was a disgrace and the venue may have suffered sanctions but what about after that? With due respect to the BCCI’s Tours, Fixtures and Technical Committee (as per the BCCI website, the members are Amitabh Vijayvargiya, Jayendra Sahgal, Raghuram Bhat, Prabir Chakrabarty and Hari Narayan Pujari), does the panel even think about such aspects while they go by rotation and turns of venues? Does the Indian side of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy having a Mumbai ring to it count for something? Perhaps I am nit-picking and getting carried away, but think about a Mumbai-based cricket follower.
For two teams that have dominated international cricket for a stretch of time not doing battle at the home of Indian cricket just doesn’t sit well.
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Compare this situation to what happens in Australia. A cricket enthusiast there knows for sure that there will be an Ashes Test at big centres like Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
The Mumbai Cricket Association has to follow the Board’s decisions, but the well meaning Mumbai administrators at D Road, Churchgate should be doing something to set this oddity right.
Nagpur will be the venue for the first Test (February 9-13) of the 2022-23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) and Ahmedabad (March 9-13) hosting the other three.
Exceptions must be made in certain situations and history must get into it. Sure, cricket should be promoted at lesser-known venues where young cricketers can be further inspired by watching their heroes in the flesh, but for that to come at a cost of a venue like Mumbai not hosting a Test involving a high profile rival like Australia for 18 years is terribly odd!
A recent report by Daniel Brettig, the insightful chief cricket writer of The Age in Melbourne, made me realise that even Kolkata has suffered in terms of ground selection for India v Australia Tests. Can you believe that Eden Gardens has not seen another Test after that epic one in which Ganguly’s India beat Steve Waugh’s Australia in 2001?
‘India to host Australia in cricket’s biggest stadium.’ Under this headline on the Sydney Morning Herald website, Brettig wrote: “The vagaries of Indian cricket politics have ensured that Australia has now gone quite some time without playing Test matches at numerous major venues.”
Eighteen India v Australia Tests have been held on Indian soil since 2004-05, out of which Mumbai has hosted only one. Mohali has had three while Bangalore laid out the Test carpet four times for both teams in the last five series. Chennai, Nagpur and Delhi had two Tests each from 2004-05 and Dharamsala is set to witness its second India v Australia Test. And Ahmedabad, where two Tests were held against England in 2021, will make their India v Australia ‘Test’ debut.
Even as new venues crop up and the field is much larger now, the BCCI shouldn’t forget their original Test venues and Mumbai tops that list.
It was here in Mumbai that India, under Sunil Gavaskar, won their first Test series over the men from Down Under and that 1979-80 Test is worth recalling. Gavaskar led the way first up with a century and a record 192-run opening stand with Chetan Chauhan. Wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani came in as nightwatchman and scored a hundred with Karsan Ghavri chiming in with a Test best of 86. India piled up 458 on a very good Wankhede track and the Australians were bowled out for 160 and 198 thanks to significant bowling efforts from Kapil Dev, Dilip Doshi and Shivlal Yadav. India ended up winning by an innings and 100 runs for the series to end 2-0 in the hosts’ favour.
The 1979-80 season witnessed three Tests at Wankhede—against Australia, Pakistan and the BCCI’s Golden Jubilee game against England. The record books of Test cricket show the celebrated venue has hosted the same number of games in 11 years. Times have indeed changed for Mumbai in Test cricket. The hunger hasn’t.
mid-day’s group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance.
He tweets @ClaytonMurzello. Send your feedback to [email protected].
The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper.
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