'That's above my pay grade': Regarding if India should adopt a model with fewer test centers, Ashwin refused to comment

Ashwin refused to comment: Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday said having fewer Test centres is beneficial for players but declined to comment on whether India should have fewer. The debate on Test centres was sparked again after Kanpur’s Green Park stadium was criticized for its poor drainage system which resulted in two days being lost in the second India vs Bangladesh Test.

Star batsman Virat Kohli had suggested a few years ago that India should have five major Test centres like Australia and England.

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"Does it help a player if you have just a few Test centres? Most certainly it does," Ashwin said after India trounced Bangladesh by seven wickets on Tuesday.

"Because when we go to Australia, they play India only at five Test centres. They don't play us in Canberra. They don't play us at any of the other venues where they won't be very familiar with the conditions. So do England."

"They have select Test centres and that's where they play. Some of those are only white-ball centres. Can we do it here (in India)? That's above my pay grade. I cannot comment on that," the player of the series said.

1⃣1⃣4⃣ runs with the bat
1⃣1⃣ wickets with the ball

R Ashwin becomes the Player of the Series for his terrific all-round display ????

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Playing at the only few Test centres has an advantage as the players are familiar with the conditions and know exactly what they need to do at a particular venue.

Australia have Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide as their Test centres. England have London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and Edgbaston as their major Test centres.

Before saying that having fewer Test centres indeed helps, Ashwin explained how cricket benefits by having multiple venues for the traditional format.

About young opener Yashaswi Jaiswal and Shubhman Gill, Ashwin had no hesitation in calling them stars. Ashwin said coming out to bat with an aggressive approach was the plan for the second Test.

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"Firstly, what are the benefits that Indian cricketers attain by having so many Test centers are, you have got cricketers who come and play Test cricket from every nook and corner of this country."

"It is a huge country and it has triggered that sort of urgency and that sort of passion amongst cricketers to be able to come and play for this country. That is a big positive."

"The second of it is there are certain requisite ingredients that go into making a Test match happen. Like, for the weather and the kind of drainage that we need to be able to invest on. These are no-brainers," he said, making it clear that there should not be any compromise on required facilities.

Talking about young opener Yashaswi Jaiswal and Shubhman Gill, Ashwin was sure they were stars.

"I would say both of them are in the native days or the formative years of playing Test Cricket but I do see that there will be the future pillars and overseas shores that they're going to encounter shortly will also enhance and enrich their experience going forward in their wonderful Test journey. They both are special, we all know that."

Ashwin said coming out to bat with an ultra aggressive approach was the plan for the second Test.

"We know how Yashasvi is going to play but Rohit walked out and just tonked the first ball for six. So when you walk the talk, obviously the dressing room doesn't have any other choice but to follow that same pattern. We have 50 runs out of 3 overs," he said.

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