Fans Recall Virat Kohli's Statement As India vs West Indies Ahmedabad Test Fails To Draw Crowd

The future of Test cricket was questioned once again as the ongoing India vs West Indies Test in Ahmedabad failed to draw a crowd, even on the second day. The two teams are to square off in a two-match series, the first of which is being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The first day, which was also a national holiday (Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra), did not see many fans turn up to watch the game live. Even on the second day (a Friday), it was hard to spot fans in the stands.

Seeing the diminishing interest in watching Test cricket inside the stadiums, certain fans recalled Virat Kohli's statement, where he once asked for only a select number of stadiums to be given the option to host Test matches.

Such a shame , this is not a Ranji match going on, it is an International match between India and west indies.
We seriously need to fixed 5 stadium for Test matches. Virat Kohli was right when he said we need a proper stadium for test matches.pic.twitter.com/vJllKypraq

— Mohali to Melbourne 82* (@MelbourneNT82) October 2, 2025

"It's Dusshera saar that's why the stadium isn't full "

Now on the second day, it looks even emptier.

Fixing just 5 centres for Test cricket isn't fair because we've had great crowds in Hyderabad, Vizag, and other non-traditional venues. It would be better if Ahmedabad… pic.twitter.com/V20FXcOcAz

— Ragav (@ragav_x) October 3, 2025

England stadium was 75% full when they were playing tests vs Zimbabwe.

While Ahmedabad disappointed once again when they're playing vs Windies. It was almost empty even when the opponent was 🇦🇺.

No one can match the love for Test Cricket in England. #INDvsWI #Cricket pic.twitter.com/BenmA7P91O

— Clink (@ClinkWrites) October 2, 2025

What Virat Kohli Had Said About Specialized Test Centers

Virat Kohli, after the Ranchi Test in 2019, asked for only a handful of venues to be given the rights to host Test matches, in order to draw fans to the stadiums.

"We've been discussing this for a long time now, and in my opinion, we should have five Test centres, period," Kohli had said after the conclusion of the Ranchi Test in 2019. "I mean, 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'.

"So that becomes a challenge already, when you're leaving your shores, because we go to any place, we know we're having four Test matches in these venues, this is what the pitch is going to offer, it's going to be a full stadium, the crowd's behind the [home] team, and look, you want to keep Test cricket alive and exciting. I totally agree with the fact that we need five Test centres at the max.

"It can't be sporadic and spread over so many places where people turn up or they don't, so in my opinion, absolutely. You should have five strong Test centres that teams coming to India know that this is where they're going to play."

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team West Indies Cricket Team Virat Kohli India vs West Indies 2025 Cricket