"Above My Pay Grade": R Ashwin's Blunt Take After Fresh Debate On Limited Test Centers Discussion

Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday agreed that having a limited number of Test centres helps the players but fell short of endorsing the idea for India, saying it was above his pay grade to comment on that. The debate on Test centres was reignited after Kanpur's Green Park stadium came under criticism for a poor drainage system, resulting in a loss of full two days in the second game between India and Bangladesh. Star batter Virat Kohli had suggested a few years ago that India should have five major Test centres like Australia and England.

"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.

The advantage of playing at the only select Test centres is that the players are familiar with the conditions and know what exactly they would require to do at a specific venue.

Australia have a tradition of playing at Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. England have London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and Edgbaston as their major Test centres. Before saying that having limited Test centres indeed helps, Ashwin elaborated how cricket benefits by having various venues for the traditional format.

"Firstly, what are the benefits that Indian cricketers attain by