Confident that Bangladesh will agree to play day-night Test, says Sourav Ganguly
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BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said on Monday that he remains confident that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will agree to play the first-ever Day/Night Test between the two countries. However, it is understood that Bangladesh is not keen on playing with the pink ball as they are unprepared.
After the three-match T20I series against India is concluded, Bangladesh will get their campaign in the ICC Test Championship underway with two Test matches against the Men in Blue. Ganguly is hoping that the BCB will agree to play the second Test, scheduled to be held at the Eden Gardens from November 22-26, under lights.
"I spoke to the BCB president (Nazmul Hassan). They are agreeable, they wanted to speak to the players. I'm sure it will be a day/night match. They will also officially announce it soon. Hopefully, by 10-10:30 pm tonight, we will get a confirmation," Ganguly told PTI.
After meeting with its senior players, the BCB is expected to intimate their final decision to the BCCI president by late Monday evening or Tuesday morning. However, BCB's head of cricket operations and former skipper Akram Khan is apprehensive of the practical issues of preparation-time as far as playing with the pink ball is concerned.
"It's a great initiative but we need to take the players into confidence. If you look at the itinerary, we would probably get two days (November 21, 22) for training with pink ball under lights. That's too little time for preparation. The players are meeting the president today. Hopefully, by tonight or tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, a decision will be made," Khan said.
Meanwhile, Ganguly is hoping for a reply by Monday night, as the BCCI intends to start full-swing preparations to invite India’s legendary Olympians to felicitate their contribution to the country in sport.
"If we get to know by tonight and then we will go forward with our plans by tomorrow. We want to invite and have plans to felicitate Mary Kom, Sindhu and all (great Olympians). We are just waiting for the BCB's confirmation at the moment. There are also plans to bring in school children, providing them free passes for the game," Ganguly said.
Much like the annual ‘Pink Test’ organised by Cricket Australia — where players wear Pink caps in association with the Jane McGrath Foundation to raise awareness about breast cancer — Ganguly also wants the Eden's Day/night Test to be an "annual affair", although he did not confirm whether there would some charity initiatives taken in regard to the match. Ganguly further added that skipper Virat Kohli and Co. have finally come on board with the idea of Test cricket under lights.
