BCCI slammed over choice of venues for marquee India-Australia Test series: 'Quite disappointing'

The Board of Control for Cricket in India unveiled India’s schedule for the 2026-27 home season, packing it with 9 ODIs in addition to 8 T20Is and 5 Tests. With the ICC World Cup – cricket’s premier multi-nation tournament – set to take place in South Africa next year, the BCCI has placed special emphasis on the 50-over format for the upcoming home season.

It’s also good news for fans of Indian batting icons and former captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – both of whom are retired from Tests as well as T20Is and are only active in the 50-over game in international cricket.

The 2026-27 fixtures list comprises multi-format assignments against West Indies and Sri Lanka, an ODI series against Zimbabwe and a five-match Test series against Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – the marquee series for the season.

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The BGT will be crucial for the Indian team’s perspective as far as their chances of qualifying for the ICC World Test Championship final are concerned, with the Shubman Gill-led side already lagging behind at sixth in the standings.

BCCI ignores Wankhede, Eden and Chinnaswamy for BGT

A major talking point from the 2026-27 home fixtures list, aside from the significance of seeing Kohli and Rohit more frequently between the two Indian Premier League windows, is the board’s choice of venues – especially for the high-profile Test series against Australia.

Kohli, after all, had suggested during his reign as captain that Test cricket should be limited to a handful of traditional centres – from Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens to Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. The suggestion was made keeping in mind the historic importance of these venues and the high attendance for India’s red-ball fixtures at these venues compared to other cities.

And while Chennai does feature among the venue list for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium have been ignored. The board, instead, has awarded these Tests to Nagpur (1st Test), Guwahati (3rd Test), Ranchi (4th Test and Ahmedabad (5th Test).

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Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, instead have been awarded white-ball fixtures for the season. Chinnaswamy will host a T20I (vs West Indies) and an ODI (vs Sri Lanka) each

Here’s how cricket fans and experts reacted to the venues for the 2026-27 BGT on X:

Happy to see a Chennai Test on the schedule but the wait for an Australia men’s team return to Mumbai & Kolkata for a Test will continue. Quite disappointing that pic.twitter.com/XFYJKE4ON8

— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) March 26, 2026

No BGT Test match in Kolkata or Mumbai

Eden Gardens gets an ODI against the mighty Zimbabwe 👌

— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) March 26, 2026

The last test match India played against Australia at the Eden Gardens was in 2001, and at the Wankhede Stadium in 2004. And the wait further continues, as neither of the 2 grounds are selected for the BGT next year.

— Spandan Roy (@talksports45) March 26, 2026

Ignored Dharamshala and Eden/Wankhede, BGT matches have been scheduled in Nagpur and Guwahati.😂👏🏻👏🏻

— mr (@maybelaterbro_) March 26, 2026

BGT should have only 5 venues

📍 Wankhede, Mumbai
📍 Eden Gardens, Kolkata
📍 Chepauk, Chennai
📍 Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
📍 Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi pic.twitter.com/fS2Jp998Ky

— Ajay Ravi Menon (@AjayRaviMenon) March 26, 2026

To announce a 5-match BGT schedule and exclude BOTH Wankhede and Eden Gardens.
Test cricket is about more than just rotation—it’s about HISTORY. pic.twitter.com/Q4ayPr3D72

— GAURAV (@crazyGaurav_) March 26, 2026