Ind v Aus here…so long ago!

When was the last time Mumbai hosted an India v Australia Test match Answer Long before Sachin Tendulkarmdashthe man who made the rivalry so specialmdashalong with late Australia spin legend Shane Warnemdashretired The Sourav Ganguly captaincy years had yet to end India were still being well served by Rahul Dravid VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble And the team members were still being coached by New Zealander John Wright before Greg Chappell entered the sceneA baby who was born then would be an adult by now That gives you a fair idea of how long this wait has been and Mumbai is still waiting for the November 35 2004 game to cease to be the last India v Australia Test held hereThat game ended inside three days and though India won by 13 runs Australia had already laid their hands on the trophy via their victory in Nagpur where Adam Gilchrist led them in the absence of injured regular captain Ricky PontingSure the pitch in that Wankhede Test was a disgrace and the venue may have suffered sanctions but what about after that With due respect to the BCCIrsquos Tours Fixtures and Technical Committee as per the BCCI website the members are Amitabh Vijayvargiya Jayendra Sahgal Raghuram Bhat Prabir Chakrabarty and Hari Narayan Pujari does the panel even think about such aspects while they go by rotation and turns of venues Does the Indian side of the BorderGavaskar Trophy having a Mumbai ring to it count for something Perhaps I am nitpicking and getting carried away but think about a Mumbaibased cricket followerFor two teams that have dominated international cricket for a stretch of time not doing battle at the home of Indian cricket just doesnrsquot sit wellAlso read Fans must celebrate victories responsiblyCompare this situation to what happens in Australia A cricket enthusiast there knows for sure that there will be an Ashes Test at big centres like Brisbane Adelaide Melbourne and SydneyThe Mumbai Cricket Association has to follow the Boardrsquos decisions but the well meaning Mumbai administrators at D Road Churchgate should be doing something to set this oddity rightNagpur will be the venue for the first Test February 913 of the 202223 BorderGavaskar Trophy with Delhi February 1721 Dharamsala March 15 and Ahmedabad March 913 hosting the other threeExceptions must be made in certain situations and history must get into it Sure cricket should be promoted at lesserknown venues where young cricketers can be further inspired by watching their heroes in the flesh but for that to come at a cost of a venue like Mumbai not hosting a Test involving a high profile rival like Australia for 18 years is terribly oddA recent report by Daniel Brettig the insightful chief cricket writer of The Age in Melbourne made me realise that even Kolkata has suffered in terms of ground selection for India v Australia Tests Can you believe that Eden Gardens has not seen another Test after that epic one in which Gangulyrsquos India beat Steve Waughrsquos Australia in 2001lsquoIndia to host Australia in cricketrsquos biggest stadiumrsquo Under this headline on the Sydney Morning Herald website Brettig wrote ldquoThe vagaries of Indian cricket politics have ensured that Australia has now gone quite some time without playing Test matches at numerous major venuesrdquoEighteen India v Australia Tests have been held on Indian soil since 200405 out of which Mumbai has hosted only one Mohali has had three while Bangalore laid out the Test carpet four times for both teams in the last five series Chennai Nagpur and Delhi had two Tests each from 200405 and Dharamsala is set to witness its second India v Australia Test And Ahmedabad where two Tests were held against England in 2021 will make their India v Australia lsquoTestrsquo debutEven as new venues crop up and the field is much larger now the BCCI shouldnrsquot forget their original Test venues and Mumbai tops that listIt was here in Mumbai that India under Sunil Gavaskar won their first Test series over the men from Down Under and that 197980 Test is worth recalling Gavaskar led the way first up with a century and a record 192run opening stand with Chetan Chauhan Wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani came in as nightwatchman and scored a hundred with Karsan Ghavri chiming in with a Test best of 86 India piled up 458 on a very good Wankhede track and the Australians were bowled out for 160 and 198 thanks to significant bowling efforts from Kapil Dev Dilip Doshi and Shivlal Yadav India ended up winning by an innings and 100 runs for the series to end 20 in the hostsrsquo favourThe 197980 season witnessed three Tests at Wankhedemdashagainst Australia Pakistan and the BCCIrsquos Golden Jubilee game against England The record books of Test cricket show the celebrated venue has hosted the same number of games in 11 years Times have indeed changed for Mumbai in Test cricket The hunger hasnrsquotmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper