Bedi: 'Don't mess around with the game'

Bishan Singh Bedi, the eternal supporter of 'proper’ cricket, has expressed his distaste for the pink-ball experiment in the Duleep Trophy. "Why are we having this," questioned Bedi. "Need of the hour," said Sourav Ganguly, BCCI's technical committee chairman.

Published : Aug 26, 2016 00:01 IST , Greater Noida

Bedi..."Attract them with good cricket."
Bedi..."Attract them with good cricket."
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Bedi..."Attract them with good cricket."

Tradition wants to preserve its identity. But innovations happen and look to create space in this constantly evolving world. When Bishan Singh Bedi, the eternal supporter of 'proper’ cricket, questions the endless experimentation, you realise there is a voice that differs from the existing chorus, led by none other than Sourav Ganguly, the chairman of the Board’s technical committee.

“Why are we having this,” questions Bedi. “Need of the hour,” says Ganguly. They are players from different eras but bound by a common threat – the betterment of the game. Bedi has his ideas. Ganguly too.

“We don’t need this experiment with the pink ball. Why? The last Test at Sydney was a sell out. The Oval Test between England and Pakistan drew a full house. And there was no pink ball there,” said Bedi, not pleased with the fare at the ongoing Duleep Trophy here.

Read: >Robin Uthappa approves of pink-ball cricket

Ganguly was emphatic that pink-ball and floodlights were aimed at attracting the spectators to the venue. “Few are interested in coming to the ground in the morning and spend the day. What is the point of playing in front of nobody? We feel this is the way forward. It is an experiment worth an attempt. Give it some time.”

“Attract them with good cricket,” insists Bedi. “Don’t have pink ball stuff for the heck of it. I feel we need to market Test cricket professionally. Like the IPL (Indian Premier League). If you can do it with shorter formats of the game then why not with Test cricket? The administrators have to seel Test cricket properly. Organise good contests. Why are the administrators shirking their responsibility towards preserving history and tradition.”

Bedi is indignant. “Cricket was not meant to be messed around with. It was a leisurely game and aimed at getting people out of recession. Able bodied people who did not play cricket were treated as outcaste. But things have changed drastically. Players have changed. The spectators have changed. The spectators earlier went to see. Not they go to be seen. There is obvious difference.”

Coming to Duleep Trophy, what disappointed Bedi was the format. “What allegiance would a player have to Blue, Green and Red, instead of the zonal concept of the past. To me, their level of commitment was missing. I could make out their lack of enthusiasm. It is not just about pink ball. We have to take other aspects of the game also into account. Please don’t mess around with the game,” Bedi pleaded.

Ganguly would be happy if the new experiment clicks. “Our main aim is to bring in spectators to the venue. This step is in that direction.”

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