On Monday, July 25, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the highly anticipated home schedule for the 2023-24 season, which features an extensive lineup of 16 matches. The fixture list comprises eight T20Is, three ODIs, and five Test matches against formidable opponents such as Australia, Afghanistan, and England. A notable feature of the schedule is the selection of venues that either missed out on hosting matches during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 or had limited opportunities. Consequently, cities like Nagpur, Indore, Mohali, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Rajkot, and Trivandrum will play host to at least one game during the extended home season.
Among the surprises were the venues chosen for the Test matches. While Hyderabad and Dharamsala are hosting one match each, the remaining three Tests are scheduled to take place in Vizag, Rajkot, and Ranchi. The decision to include Ranchi as a venue reignited discussions about India's approach to Test centers, a topic that surfaced back in 2019, drawing attention from the then-captain Virat Kohli as well. During the India-South Africa series, the audience turnout at JSCA Stadium, Ranchi, was less than satisfactory, prompting Kohli's views that India should adopt a system of having five dedicated Test centers. He emphasized that Test cricket deserves specialized venues akin to the approach followed in England and Australia, and that the rotation system should primarily be limited to white-ball cricket.
With the recent announcement of Test venues, social media has revisited Kohli's statement from 2019. Fans and cricket enthusiasts have highlighted the fact that major cricketing centers like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata have not been allocated any of the Test matches for the England series, scheduled from January to March in 2024.
Kohli's sentiments from 2019 have regained attention, where he expressed, "We've been discussing this for a long time now, and in my opinion, we should have five Test centers, period. I mean, I agree [with] state associations and rotation and giving games and all that, that is fine for T20 and one-day cricket, but Test cricket, teams coming to India should know, 'we're going to play at these five centers, these are the pitches we're going to expect, these are the kind of people that will come to watch, crowds'."
The Indian skipper further emphasized the importance of consistency in hosting Test matches, "So that becomes a challenge already, when you're leaving your shores because we go to any place, we know we're having four Test matches in these venues, this is what the pitch is going to offer, it's going to be a full stadium, the crowd's behind the [home] team, and look, you want to keep Test cricket alive and exciting. I totally agree with the fact that we need five Test centers at the max," he had asserted back then.
The five Test matches between India and England will be as follows: Hyderabad (1st Test - January 25-29), Vizag (2nd Test - February 2-6), Rajkot (3rd Test - February 15-19), Ranchi (4th Test - February 23-27) and Dharamsala (5th Test - March 7-11).