 "Most of the seats at the Ahmedabad stadium are empty. Image: AFP")
Indian fans have raised questions about the BCCI’s choice of venue for the first Test against the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Thousands of seats remained empty as the match got underway on Thursday, October 2. The same situation continued on the second day of the match as well.
Fans slam BCCI for picking Ahmedabad as venue for 1st Test
Fans online criticised the BCCI for choosing the world’s biggest cricket stadium for the first Test against the West Indies, even though it was clear that it would be very hard to fill all 1,32,000 seats against a lower-ranked side. One fan suggested that Ahmedabad should be used for marquee T20 matches only and not Tests.
The fan added that Tests should be played at venues where people really want to watch red-ball cricket, such as Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Dharamsala, Vizag, etc. Fans want the BCCI to limit Test cricket to a few selected centres rather than playing in Ahmedabad, where people are not as interested.
Some fans also believe that the low attendance could be due to the absence of stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and R. Ashwin, who all recently retired from Test cricket.
The West Indies had a poor start after winning the toss and electing to bat, losing half their batting lineup by lunch on Day 1. They were restricted to 162 after the break, with Mohammed Siraj taking four wickets for 40 runs, while Jasprit Bumrah (3/42), Kuldeep Yadav (1/25), and Washington Sundar (1/7) also picked up wickets.
India started well with the bat and have already managed to close the lead. KL Rahul scored a brilliant century and is unbeaten, while Shubman Gill registered a fifty before getting out to Roston Chase. India are currently leading by 56 runs at lunch on Day 2.