Sourav Ganguly has backed the BCCI’s venue-rotation policy even after Eden Gardens was left out of India’s five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia in the 2026-27 home season, choosing to support the board’s wider spread of matches rather than push only for Kolkata’s case. The Australia series, scheduled from January 21 to February 25, 2027, will be played in Nagpur, Chennai, Guwahati, Ranchi and Ahmedabad, with Kolkata and Mumbai missing out despite their stature as two of India’s most traditional Test centres.
Quoted by Sportstar, Ganguly said that while Eden Gardens would always be a preferred venue for a marquee Test, the logic of taking matches to other centres also had to be accepted in the current scheduling structure.
“It’s always great to have big Test matches back at Eden Gardens. As the president of the CAB and being a former player, I would like to host Test matches here, but we got the Test against South Africa, then there were T20 World Cup games and the Indian Premier League fixtures,” Ganguly said.
India’s 2026-27 home season is a packed one, with series against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Australia across formats. In that larger calendar, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been spread across both established venues and newer Test centres such as Guwahati and Ranchi. Kolkata and Mumbai remain part of the season’s schedule in white-ball cricket, but neither has been handed a Test against Australia.
Ganguly backs wider policy despite Eden missing out
Sourav Ganguly’s second quote made his position even clearer. Rather than frame Eden Gardens’ omission as a grievance, he endorsed the board’s effort to distribute top-level cricket more widely.
“But Stadiums all around India are very good. I am so happy to see a Test match at Chennai, then there are matches at Guwahati and Ranchi, where the facilities are very good. As much as you would like to host matches at the Eden, it is important to understand that it has to go to other venues as well,” Ganguly said.
The issue has also reopened the broader debate over where Test cricket in India should primarily be played. For many former players and followers, venues such as Eden Gardens, Wankhede, Chepauk, Feroz Shah Kotla and Green Park carry a distinct Test identity built over decades. Former India left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju voiced that view.
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“Back in our time, we had five Test venues – Kolkata, Kanpur, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai – and it had its own charm. I think they should go back to that format again,” Raju said.
“Hosting T20Is and ODIs are alright, but playing in these five Test centres is always special. Playing at a venue like Eden is always a privilege, because of the huge crowd support.”
For now, though, the BCCI’s scheduling has gone the other way, and Ganguly’s comments effectively underline that reality: even for a venue like Eden Gardens, history and pull alone are no longer enough to guarantee a place in India’s biggest home Test series.
