The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, Sourav Ganguly has said that one pink-ball Test in every series is ideal as it will attract crowds in large numbers for Test cricket. India and England will be locking horns with each other in the day-night Test, scheduled to be commencing on February 24 at the Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad. Fans will also be witnessing the game and Ganguly has already said that the stadium is sold out for the upcoming Test.
Both India and England head into the pink-ball Test with the four-match series level at 1-1. Talking about the same during a chat on Star Sports, Sourav Ganguly said, “Ahmedabad is completely sold out. I speak to Jay Shah and he’s very keen on these Test matches. Just for him also cricket is coming back to Ahmedabad after six-seven years because they built the new stadium, and I have told him we have set an example with pink-ball Test last year in Kolkata.”
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The BCCI president further added “And that’s what it is, the tickets have gone, as well as for the T20s which will follow the Tests. We wanted the fans back. We could have had them in the first Test in Chennai but we decided to go with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, who said let’s see how it goes for the first one because it’s our first game after a long time and we’ll open it up for the second Test.”
Talking about the prospects of pink-ball Tests, Ganguly reckons that one day-night Test in a series is ideal. IPL 2021 is set to be played from April this year. The BCCI would be looking to allow crowds for the cash-rich T20 tournament and Ganguly revealed that the decision regarding fans would be taken very soon.
Before the tournament, a mini-auction is scheduled to be taking place in Chennai on February 18 and it will see 292 players going under the hammer. Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Alex Hales, Shakib Al Hasan, and Moeen Ali are some of the players who have registered for this year’s auction.
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Elaborating the same, Ganguly said, “This year is going to be big as well because of what it is. We’ll see whether we can get the crowd back into the IPL, it’s a decision we’ll have to take very shortly. But it’s going to be another great tournament.”
Earlier this year, Ganguly was hospitalized twice in Kolkata, however, the former India skipper said that he is “fit and fine” and is back at work.
