Sachin Tendulkar's 200th Test: Eden Gardens want to host iconic tie

It's a perfect case of counting one's chickens before they are hatched. Even before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come out with details of the proposed Test and ODI series against the West Indies later this year, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has expressed its desire to host the second game of the two-Test series which in all likelihood will be Sachin Tendulkar's landmark 200th Test.

"I understand Mumbai is keen to host the match as it could be Sachin's last Test at home, but Sachin belongs to Kolkata as well. He belongs to the whole of India," Biswarup Dey, the CAB treasurer told MiD DAY yesterday. Dey pressed CAB's case further: "We feel Eden Gardens will be the best stadium to host Sachin's 200th Test. After all, it has the biggest capacity across all venues (about 67,000 seats) in the country and also has an illustrious history."

So keen is CAB to host the game that they have already requested the BCCI to consider their case. "We requested BCCI president N Srinivasan on Sunday to let Eden host the match. Let's see how the Board responds," said Dey.

CAB's request could end up putting Mumbai Cricket Association president Ravi Savant in a spot if the Board heeds to CAB's request. It would be interesting to see the stand he takes as he would be expected to go all out and get Mumbai to host the game. On the other hand, he is the treasurer of the BCCI and would be expected to toe the Board's line.

Savant was not available for comment, but a top MCA official told MiD DAY: "First, let the venues be shortlisted. It is not clear whether we are getting any match. We will decide only after we know the venues."The other aspect in CAB's favour at the moment is that Jagmohan Dalmiya is interim president of the Board and he would certainly like to gift one of the most eagerly awaited games to his own association. According to BCCI's rotation policy, Bangalore and Ahmedabad are next in line to hosts Test matches followed by Mumbai and Kolkata.

No reactions now: SRT

While the world speculates whether Sachin Tendulkar will hang his boots after completing 200 Tests, the great man himself is in no hurry to let his fans know his future plans. In a text message to news channel NDTV, Tendulkar said: "No reactions now... will take it match-by-match." Tendulkar has not been in the best of form for a prolonged period and hasn't scored a Test ton in his last 21 Tests. The closest he came to the three-figure mark was against West Indies at Wankhede Stadium in November 2011. He was out for 94 then.