Guwahati Test 'away game' for both teams: Ashwin on pitch familiarity

Chennai, Oct 15: Guwahati's maiden Test between India and South Africa will be a virtual "away game" for both the teams due to the unfamiliarity of the pitch, said Ravichandran Ashwin, underlining the importance of making permanent Test centres with "good pitches" in the country.

"When we play a Test match in Guwahati, it is an away game from both South Africa and India. I don't think anybody in that Indian team has played a first-class game in Guwahati," he said, on his Hindi YouTube channel.

Ashwin said that while he is not against playing at the venue, he is for the idea of having permanent Test centres. He also felt that none among current India players would have played a red ball game at Guwahati.

"(A) Test centre is not about crowds alone. It is about familiarity of your conditions," he said.

Ashwin said knowledge of the conditions and how a pitch would behave in certain time of the year gives any home side the advantage they need.

"If we are playing a Test match in Ranchi, (or) if we are playing a Test match in Guwahati, I am not against these Test match venues as a possibility. Indore is a fantastic Test crowd again. Guwahati is (also) a fantastic Test crowd (venue)."

Ashwin said the venues where pitches don't deteriorate to aid Indian spinners, it become a part of the problem.

"When you go to the eastern part of the country, the ball doesn't bounce. There is literally no bounce. The wicket doesn't deteriorate. When you go to certain venues, those venues (where) the wickets don't deteriorate, as Indian team, you want the wicket to spin a little to aid your spinners and rightly so. It must be that way," he added.

While Ashwin declined sharing the venues he would want to become as India's Test centres, he emphasised on making good pitches.

"No, giving preference is not my problem. You decide whichever your Test centre is. But make sure the Test centre has the best pitches. Whether you are going to Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, or Perth, there is a difference in the speed off the surface. But there is bounce everywhere, right?"

The Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati will become the newest Test venue in India when it hosts the second and final match against World Test Championship defenders South Africa from November 22-26.

PTI