Hope people will approach D/N Test in Kolkata with open mind, says Simon Taufel

11/03/2019

One of the most renowned umpires in the history of the game, Simon Taufel wishes to see people approach the Day/Night Test in Kolkata with an open mind and feels that it might be the start of something special. Taufel is of the opinion that D/N Tests might help in finally popularizing Test Cricket.

For reasons unknown, the BCCI had opposed the idea of playing Day/Night Tests in the country for a good three years, but it all changed within days of former skipper Sourav Ganguly taking over as the body's president. Ganguly put forward a proposal to BCB asking if they were fine with making the Kolkata Test a Day/Night one and after the latter agreed, history was made.

Legendary Australian umpire Simon Taufel hopes for the Kolkata crowd to approach the historic Test with an open mindset and feels that it might play a huge part in popularizing Test cricket in the country.

“It has worked in other parts of the world, Adelaide particularly. I’ve been to the day-night Test there. Certainly, it’s very popular. I hope people here will approach this Test in Kolkata with an open mind. It may be part of the solution,” Taufel said on the sidelines of his book launch, Finding the Gaps, reported Quint.

Taufel also admitted that the game's longest format is currently facing a kind of a crisis where it's struggling to attract the masses, but feels that the concept of a Day/Night Test match is an experiment which might just be the solution to popularize Test cricket. While not being sure if it was the only way going forward, Taufel believes that it's a step in the right direction and also insisted on the need to experiment further.

“It’s about trying new things and have an open mind. There’s no question that Test cricket is facing a challenge at the moment. I’m not sure if the day-night Test is the only answer to promote the game. It may be part of the answer. But unless we try, we would not know."

The historic D/N Test between India and Bangladesh will be played on November 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.