Guwahati Test could be 'away game' for both India and SA, need permanent centres: Ashwin

Guwahati’s maiden Test between India and South Africa will be a virtual “away game” for both the teams due to the unfamiliarity of the pitch, said Ravichandran Ashwin, underlining the importance of making permanent Test centres with “good pitches” in the country.

The Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati will become the newest Test venue in India when it hosts the second and final match against World Test Championship defenders South Africa from November 22-26.

The legendary Ashwin said while he is not against playing at the venue, he vouched for the idea of having permanent Test centres. He also felt that none among the current India players would have played a red ball game at this venue.

“South Africa are coming in as champions but I don’t think they also have the arsenal in the spin department or batting against spin. But we will have to talk about Test centres. We are playing in Eden Gardens and Guwahati against South Africa,” Ashwin said on his Hindi YouTube channel.

“Virat Kohli said many years ago that we must have standard Test centres. I personally think it is about time we gave it serious thought.” “When we play a Test match in Guwahati, it is an away game from both South Africa and India. I don’t think anybody in that Indian team has played a First-Class game in Guwahati,” he said.

Ashwin said knowledge of the conditions and how a pitch would behave in certain time of the year gives any home side the advantage they need.

“(A) Test centre is not about crowds alone. It is about familiarity of your conditions,” he said.

“If we are playing a Test match in Ranchi, (or) if we are playing a Test match in Guwahati, I am not against these Test match venues as a possibility. Indore is a fantastic Test crowd again. Guwahati is (also) a fantastic Test crowd (venue).” “In Ranchi, we used to get great crowds. But the problem is, in every corner of India, the identity of the surface is different. When you go to the eastern part of the country, the ball doesn’t bounce. There is literally no bounce. The wicket doesn’t deteriorate,” he added.

While Ashwin declined sharing the venues he would want to become as India’s Test centres, he emphasised on making good pitches.

“No, giving preference is not my problem. You decide whichever your Test centre is. But make sure the Test centre has the best pitches. Whether you are going to Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, or Perth, there is a difference in the speed off the surface. But there is bounce everywhere, right?” “So, what do you need to maintain the bounce? The black soil that you put… I mean, it cannot be not binding. You have to keep the pitch of red soil everywhere. There must be a mix of red clay and black clay which ensures good cricket,” he said.

Ashwin noted Indore’s Holkar Stadium has bounce for red soil mix. “If you make good cricket pitches, keep the Test centre anywhere. Indore is a very new centre, right? Why am I saying so much about Indore’s Test pitches? Because they have good red soil pitches. There is bounce in the wicket,” he said.

“If I pick Test centres, then I know how that conversation will go. People will say ‘Ashwin backs these centres to be the Test centres’.”

“I am not saying that these Test centres should be the best centres. Good Test cricketing pitches should be there. Why are certain venues better than some of the other venues, because the pitches are better and the team is used to it,” he said.

Ashwin said making the team play on unfamiliar pitches is akin to taking away the home advantage.

“When the Indian team has a habit of playing in those venues, they know how to play the wicket in which month, in which day. That is home advantage,” he said.

“You are removing the home advantage from the team and you are saying you are playing at home. What home? The only point of home is you are playing within the Indian map. That’s it. It is not home,” he added.

Ashwin said the venues where pitches don’t deteriorate to aid Indian spinners, it become a part of the problem.

“When you go to certain venues, those venues (where) the wickets don’t deteriorate, as Indian team, you want the wicket to spin a little to aid your spinners and rightly so. It must be that way,” he said.

“But when those venues don’t have wickets that deteriorate and when you make those wickets a little bad, they become unplayable. That is the problem.”

“When you make a turner, the wicket will spin where the batsman can still play. The wicket will spin. But if the surface doesn’t have it in it to be able to spin as the game goes on, then you make the wicket a little bad and it becomes unplayable.”