BCCI chief Ganguly bats for day-night Tests

Ganguly was instrumental in hosting the first-ever day-and-night pink ball cricket match — CAB Super League final in 2016 — at the Eden Gardens.

Former India batsman V.V.S. Laxman with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly (right) at an event in Kolkata on Friday.

 

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly said it would be easier to host day-night Tests since India captain Virat Kohli is in favour of the format.

Speaking at a function organised by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) in his honour, the former India captain said, “I am a big believer in day-and-night Tests. Kohli is agreeable to it. The game needs to go forward.”

Ganguly was instrumental in hosting the first-ever day-and-night pink ball cricket match — CAB Super League final in 2016 — at the Eden Gardens during his tenure as president of the association.

“Nobody thought T20 cricket would be like this. I am a firm believer in day-and-night Tests. Test cricket is seriously challenged by T20 and 50-over cricket...I don't know when it will happen but I hope it happens.”

V.V.S. Laxman, who played for India under Ganguly's captaincy and then worked as a batting consultant at CAB, advised the BCCI chief to upgrade the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

(From left): V.V.S. Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin.

 

“Recently I saw the most-depleted South African side. That's because their domestic structure is not strong. Indian cricket is flourishing because our domestic structure is doing well. I want to know how NCA can be a centre of excellence so that we can have future champions,” he said.

Mohammed Azharuddin, who was Ganguly's first captain in the Indian side and the current Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president, expects the BCCI president to excel in his new role. “I want Sourav, the BCCI president, to achieve more than what he has achieved as a player and a captain,” he said.