While India's performance against West Indies in the first Test was near-perfect, one aspect that stood out as a possible negative from the match was the turnout in the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. A vast number of empty seats in the 132,000-seater stadium were visible throughout the three days of the match. Former India cricketer and reputed pundit Aakash Chopra has proposed a solution to the issue. Chopra suggested that Test matches could gather larger crowds if they're played at smaller centres.
Chopra gave his reasoning on why a large crowd didn't turn up for the match between India and West Indies at Ahmedabad.
"There are multiple reasons. The gap between India and West Indies is very big. Coming to watch West Indies play seems like a laborious task. The stadium has a capacity of 132,000. Even if 10 or 15,000 fans come, it still looks totally empty. Ahmedabad hosts many high-profile matches like the IPL final and the World Cup final, and whatnot. So, there isn't any appetite for a low-key contest like this," Chopra explained in a short video on his YouTube channel.
Chopra then pointed out an example to highlight that playing in smaller centres could be the solution.
Chopra stated that a match between India A and Australia A saw the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur get packed out.
"Take Test matches to smaller centres. Play in Guwahati, Ranchi, or Indore, and the stadium will be full. Play a pink-ball Test! It will add some excitement because, in this form and shape, it is not about the love for the game," Chopra said.
"People are coming to watch matches; they came in Kanpur for an India A match, they came in numbers in Delhi for a Ranji Trophy match, so they will come here too. But the chances of people coming to watch in Ahmedabad are slim," Chopra added.
Legendary India batter Virat Kohli had suggested in 2019 that Test cricket should be played at five specific venues.
"We've been discussing this for a long time now, and in my opinion we should have five Test centres, period. I agree with state associations, and rotation, and giving games and all that, that is fine for T20 and one-day cricket, but Test cricket, teams coming to India should know, 'we're going to play at these five centres, these are the pitches we're going to expect, these are the kind of people that will come to watch, crowds'," Kohli had said.
The second Test between India and West Indies will take place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.