Virat Kohli Being Missed? Less Crowd to Watch One-Off Test vs Afghanistan in Chandigarh Grabs Unnecessary Attention

India vs Afghanistan: A week back when the Indian Premier League was happening, the stadiums were full, and now - things have changed. The format has changed and it seems like fans have zilch interest in watching Test cricket - which is known to be the ultimate in cricket - at least for the purists. In Chandigarh, where India is hosting Afghanistan for a one-off Test - there is hardly any crowd. 

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Kohli Factor or New Venue? 

While this is alarming, it would not be wrong to say that the retirement of big stars like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the format has played a role. Another factor that could be the reason behind the less crowd could be that New Chandigarh is making it's debut as a Testy venue. New Chandigarh is now the 31st men's Test venue in India. 

There could be a third factor behind the less crowd is that Mullanpur is far away from the main city. May be, it is time for the Board of Control of Cricket in India to look at the scheduling and venue choices. Put Tests regularly at Wankhede, Chepauk, Eden Gardens, Chinnaswamy, Delhi, and Ahmedabad, and watch the crowds turn up. It needs to be noted that England and Australia don't randomly move Tests everywhere. They have a set of iconic venues and that's how tradition and atmosphere are built.

India Dominate

It would be safe to say that the first session of the Test belonged to India as they went into lunch at 96 for one. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the sole casualty before lunch. He was dismissed for 24. Rahul is in the middle on 37*, while Sai Sudarshan is on 32*.