Former India opener Gautam Gambhir on Thursday was critical of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s handling of Test cricket, pointing out that the board had fallen short in promoting the longest format of the game.
The two-time World Cup winner made his point in the presence of Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai and CEO Rahul Johri. “I don’t think BCCI has marketed Test cricket as well as they have done with ODIs and T20s. I remember a Test match at Eden Gardens against West Indies [in 2011]. India was batting on the first day and there were 1000 people,” Gambhir said.
“Imagine Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman playing and there are only 1000 people,” Gambhir said during the launch of cricket historian Boria Majumdar’s book Eleven Gods and Billion Indians.
Seasoned spinner Harbhajan Singh had earlier suggested Test cricket to be taken to tier-2 cities but Gambhir thinks otherwise. “I don’t know but they have messed it somewhere – maybe, cut down on T20s and ODIs,”
Gambhir, who has played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs, also felt that playing white-ball cricket before Test matches offered little help. India are schedule to play three Twenty20 Internationals and three ODIs before the five-match Test series against England during their upcoming tour, starting on June 27.
“Playing with red dukes in Test is completely different from playing white-ball cricket. The three T20s and three ODIs isn’t an indicator of how well you are prepared for the Tests,” said the two-time IPL winning captain.