The Indian cricket team is all set to play its first Day-Night test match against Bangladesh after it was pitched by new BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. The decision was announced on Tuesday by Ganguly.
Ganguly took this rather bold decision just a week into his 9-month long contract as BCCI President.
The series will take place at Eden Gardens between 22nd to 26th November 2019. This decision came after a lot of deliberation as Ganguly first pitched it to the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
This was met with a considerable amount of resistance from many players as playing with a pink ball under floodlights can be slightly difficult, owing to how poor the vision gets after a while. Many meetings later Sourav Ganguly was able to convince the board to let the two-day series be played at Eden Garden.
“It’s just my job, that’s what I’m here for… Because I’ve played this game for so long. It’s great. I think common sense is important. And I think it’s a great move for Test cricket and hopefully, it will bring crowds back to the ground,” said Ganguly in an exclusive interview with PTI.
When this format was first implemented during the Duleep Trophy in years of 2016, 2017 and 2018, dew was one of the biggest issues for spinners as it hindered their game. Ganguly also stated that instead of Kookaburra, SG balls would be used.
“We will make sure there’s no dew. After all day/night one-dayers are played here. There’s this dew treatment spray and all. Nothing will happen,” Ganguly said.
This landmark decision will help the Indian cricket team and cricket fans in reestablishing the lost fame of test matches and try to reignite the glory days of the sport.
