DDCA unhappy on Feroz Shah Kotla not being awarded a single Test match for upcoming season

Although the Indian cricket’s roster for the upcoming season at home has a record 13 Test matches, Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla ground has not been given a single match to host. Kotla ground is one of the country’s oldest stadiums, having hosted numerous games in its history.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association or the DDCA has been in administrative shambles, forcing the court to appoint retired Justice Mukul Mudgal to supervise both international and Indian Premier League matches over the past season.

Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India or the BCCI have come out and said that Feroz Shah Kotla did not get a test because it is a part of their rotation policy, DDCA Vice-president and former Indian batsman, Chetan Chauhan thinks otherwise.

“How can we not get a Test during such a busy season? When the pitches at other venues during the South Africa Test series were being criticised, ours got great feedback. In fact, while other games were finishing in three-four days, ours extended to five days”, he said.

Skipped not because of ongoing CBI inquiry

There were rumours that Delhi was skipped by the BCCI due to the ongoing CBI inquiry on DDCA officials. But the Board has refuted any such claims with BCCI’s Game Development Officer Ratnakar Shetty saying: “We are going by rotation policy. Since Delhi hosted the last Test to happen at home, we have excluded it.”

Out of the four venues which hosted Test matches against South Africa the previous year, only Nagpur and Delhi have been omitted. The International Cricket Council or the ICC criticised the pitch in Nagpur, which is why it was left out of the roster.

Although Bengaluru and Mohali also hosted the Test matches against South Africa last year, they have been retained and are set to host matches once again in the coming season.

BCCI has given opportunities to six new cities this year after including them in the list for the Test venues to increase the number to 16. Although Delhi misses out on Test matches, it does have a consolation prize in the form of a One Day International match against second-ranked New Zealand in October-November.

India are currently on a tour to Zimbabwe as they look to win both the One-Day International series and the T20 series, as they have given many young guns a chance to shine on the international stage.