London: The second Test match between India and Bangladesh will be played under lights if Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) approves the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) request.
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The BCCI has moved a step closer to hosting a day-night Test, with a request going across to its counterparts at the BCB for the second and final Test of the upcoming India-Bangladesh series, scheduled to be played at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, ESPNcricinfo reported.
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“We are having this discussion but we haven’t decided yet. We will only decide after speaking to the players and team management,” BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said.
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As the response is awaited from Bangladesh but the preparations at Eden Gardens are underway.
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“We are waiting for the final go-ahead now, but yeah, we are expecting it to happen,” he said. “As such, there is nothing different for us to do. A pitch is a pitch, we are hoping to make it a sporting one, with some pace.” Sujan Mukherjee, the chief curator at Eden Gardens said.
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“It has been raining intermittently for the past many days, and non-stop for the last three days. I am sure we will have time to do a good job, but we haven’t been able to do much,” he added.
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After becoming the 39th president of BCCI, former skipper Sourav Ganguly emphasised the need for playing day/night Test matches to attract audience to the stadiums.
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His remarks came during a ceremony by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) felicitating him on his new appointment.
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“We all are thinking about this. We will do something about it. I am a big believer of day/night Test matches, I do not know when will that happen. Till the time I am around, I will keep pushing about it. I must say, Virat Kohli, is agreeable to it. Once the captain of India agrees to it, life will become easier,” Ganguly said during the ceremony.
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“Yes you need to maintain the history of Test cricket, but you need to take the game forward. I am a firm believer of day/night Test matches, it can attract the audience to the stadiums. T20 cricket is seriously challenging the Test cricket, steps need to be taken,” he added.
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Both India and Bangladesh are yet to play in a day-night Test. Afghanistan and Ireland, the two newest full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC), are the two to have not featured in a day-night Test so far.
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Bangladesh’s tour of India begins on November 3 as both sides will play in the first T20I of three-match series, followed by two Test matches.
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