Ganguly bats for BCCI, says Tests must be shared across venues, not just traditional centres

The BCCI last week left out traditional venues like Bengaluru, Kolkata and Mumbai from the marquee Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

India's former captain Sourav Ganguly would love to host as many Tests as possible at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, but is also "happy" to see the traditional format reach other venues like Guwahati and Ranchi.

Unveiling Team India's home season for 2026-27, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last week left out traditional venues like Bengaluru, Kolkata and Mumbai from the marquee Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, scheduling matches in Nagpur, Chennai, Guwahati, Ranchi and Ahmedabad from January 21 to February 25 next year.

Reacting to the move, Ganguly, who headed the BCCI before and is currently the chief of Cricket Association of Bengal, said Eden Gardens has got its fair share of games.

"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 on the sidelines of the book launch 'Miracle At Eden' by Sportstar.

"As much as you would like to host matches at the Eden, it's important to understand that it has to go to other venues as well," he added.

India's 2026-27 home season is a packed one, featuring series against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Australia across formats. Kolkata and Mumbai will host only white-ball matches.

But Guwahati, which made its Test debut in November 2025, will host its second Test in just over a year's time, while Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium also returns as a venue after hosting the West Indies in October last season.

The Wankhede last hosted a Test in November 2024, while Eden Gardens staged one against South Africa in November in the year gone by.

In the BCCI's calendar, Kolkata (January 3, 2027) and Mumbai (January 9, 2027) have been allotted ODIs against Zimbabwe, while Delhi will host Sri Lanka for the first ODI on December 13 this year.

The perceived sidelining of traditional centres has divided opinions.

Speaking on the issue for the first time, Ganguly backed BCCI to take Tests across the country.

"Stadiums all around India are very good. I'm so happy to see a Test match at Chennai, then there're matches at Guwahati and Ranchi, where the facilities are very good," he added.

Ganguly also said plans are afoot to organise a reunion of the 2001 Test team at Eden Gardens.

"Yes, we will have a reunion at the Eden. I was planning it (earlier this month), but it got delayed because of Sachin Tendulkar's son's wedding," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)