Dhoni wants Tests hosted at venues where 'full circus of fans can help them perform'

Sydney, Oct 15 (ANI): Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni wants Tests matches to be scheduled more at venues which are more receptive to the game.

Team India was victorious in the second Test against Australia at Bangalore in front of large and vocal crowds at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, creating an atmosphere all too rare in Tests on the subcontinent.

The choices of cities for Test matches in India are habitually made for reasons as much political as practical, which explains why Nagpur and Mohali are consistently chosen over a city like Kolkata, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

"Maybe some of these centres where people come up to see Test matches can be given preference over some other centres where people don't come in large numbers to watch Test matches," Dhoni said.

"After all, if taken in the right sense, we are the performers in the circus, but you need the circus to be full," he said.

Dhoni said his team would not have been able to raise the level of their game themselves at times in Bangalore without the assistance of the crowd.

"It really helps the players who are on the field. Frankly speaking, in the 45th or 50th over, when the fast bowler comes for his second or third spell, it's the crowd that gets him going, apart from the fact that he is supposed to do well for the team and the country.

"You need some kind of a motivation, and especially because we're used to playing IPL and ODIs in front of 30,000 or 40,000 or 50,000 people, you want that kind of a crowd," Dhoni said.

Bangalore provided proof that judicious scheduling would help Test cricket remain as commercially attractive as its Twenty20 nephew.

"It was a remarkable crowd. Throughout the five days there were good crowds, and on the final day it was literally house full. You could see as many people in the stands as in a T20 or oneday match. They supported good cricket more than anything else," Dhoni said. (ANI)