Ace spinner R Ashwin talked about why the Indian team doesn’t have any home advantage in the Test series in the country. The spinner is just one wicket away from taking his 500th Test wicket. His words come before the third Test between India and England which will be played in Rajkot from February 15.
Usually when a home side plays in their conditions, they are very well informed about the pitches, the grounds, etc, but Ashwin revealed that this doesn’t happen when India plays in their own country, especially in the ongoing five-Test series against England.
“There’s never been a marquee Test series like this in five such venues before. In 2017, we played Tests against Australia in Ranchi and Dharamshala. However, in that series, the other venues were Pune and Bangalore. Usually, if there are 4-5 match Test series, at least one or two happen in metro cities,” Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel.
“Unlike that, this time, it’s happening in venues that weren’t a part of the World Cup matches. For most Indian players themselves, these venues are new. There are a lot of players playing in our own team who have not played a test match or a first-class in the Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium. I am not sure if this is possible in any other country. In India, it is possible because there are so many test venues here,” he added.
“If you take the case of England. For example, in this Test series, Tom Hartley made his debut. If Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed are playing a Test match in England, they can never say I’ve not played in Lancashire ground or Worcestershire ground. The matches never happened in Worcestershire. They cannot say that they have never played in Surrey Oval because they would have played. Not just the county matches, but even the Test matches there happen in these venues.
But in India, because there are so many venues, even for Indian players it’s the first time they are playing a test or even a first-class match in these venues. So home familiarity has gone missing in these cases. Of course, they would have played IPL, T20, or ODI matches here and there. But in playing red ball in a longer format, the familiarity really makes a difference,” he explained.
The off-spinner showered praise on the youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who scored a double century and a century in the second Test respectively.
“Yashasvi Jaiswal’s enormous growth. He scored a double-century. In fact, he came down and hit James Anderson towards the extra covers and got out after a double century. He got out for James Anderson in both the innings. Shubman Gill has secured his hundred in the second innings of the Vizag Test. There is no need to reiterate the fact that he is a fantastic player, but this knock has justified the kind of armory he hold,” he said.
The third Test will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) in Rajkot and the association will felicitate both Ravindra Jadeja and Cheteshwar Pujara for their contributions to Indian cricket and making both state and country proud with their achievements.
Pujara is only the thirteenth Indian player to enter the elite 100-Test club and Jadeja is a proven match-winner for India across formats, currently ranked No.1 in ICC Test all-rounder rankings. The SCA stadium will be renamed as Niranjan Shah Stadium and both the cricketers will be honored during the ceremony.
“The Indian players have gone back home and will be reuniting for the next Test match in Rajkot. Rajkot is the home of Cheteshwar Pujara. A certified Indian legend who recently concluded his 100 Test matches. We’ll be playing in his place. Ravindra Jadeja, Saurashtra. The Rajkot stadium is his home ground, but he is from Jamnagar. Let’s wait and watch if Cheteshwar Pujara invites everyone to his home for dinner,” Ashwin said.
“Next Test is in Ranchi, thala Dhoni’s hometown. That’s the fourth Test. The final and fifth Test is in Dharamshala. It’s gonna happen in that scenic ground,” he said.
