The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced the schedule and venues for the India vs Australia 2027 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. After hosting a Test match against South Africa in November last year, Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium has been awarded a BGT Test, but not Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The series against Australia, spread across January, February and March 2027, will begin in Nagpur from January 21, followed by Chennai (January 29 to February 2). The third Test will be played in Guwahati from February 11 to 15 after an eight-day gap. The fourth Test in Ranchi will be held from February 19 to 23, while the final Test in Ahmedabad will begin on February 27.
There was a furore on social media as major centres like Eden Gardens (Kolkata) and the Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai) were not allotted an India vs Australia Test.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was asked about the same on Monday.
“It’s always great to have big Test matches back at Eden Gardens. As the president of the CAB and a former player, I would like to host Test matches here, but we already hosted the Test against South Africa, and then there were T20 World Cup games and Indian Premier League fixtures,” Ganguly, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, told Sportstar.
“But stadiums all around India are very good. I am happy to see a Test match in Chennai, and then there are matches in Guwahati and Ranchi, where the facilities are excellent. As much as you would like to host matches at Eden, it’s important to understand that games also need to go to other venues,” he added.
Former India spinner Venkatapathy Raju, however, was in favour of big centres hosting high-profile Tests.
“Back in our time, we had five Test venues – Kolkata, Kanpur, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai – and they had their own charm. I think they should go back to that format again,” Raju said.
“Hosting T20Is and ODIs is fine, but playing at these five Test centres is always special. Playing at a venue like Eden is a privilege because of the huge crowd support,” Raju added.
Among the five venues selected under rotation, Nagpur (last hosted a Test vs Australia in 2023), Chennai (last hosted a Test vs Bangladesh in 2024), Ranchi (last hosted a Test vs England in 2024) and Ahmedabad (last hosted vs Australia in 2023) have all received their due matches.
However, it remains unclear how Guwahati – which hosted India’s last home Test series against South Africa in November 2025 – again features in the rotation, while Mumbai and Kolkata are not part of the marquee series.
With PTI inputs