Bishen Singh Bedi not in favour of pink ball and Day/Night Tests
There has been a lot talk of playing Test cricket under lights and how that was a way to bring more bums on seats at venues for the longer format of the game.
In June earlier this year, India witnessed its first ever day-night match with the pink ball when Mohun Bagan and Bhowanipore Club played the CAB Super League Final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The success of that experiment prompted the board to try it out once again, this time in the Duleep Trophy competition that is presently in progress in Greater Noida.
However, one former cricketer isn’t too happy with Test cricket being played with the pink ball and in the night. Bishen Singh Bedi, the former left-arm spinner, has given the examples of the recent England-Pakistan test at the Oval as well as the Sydney test last year in stating that under normal circumstances as well, crowds are coming into venues.
“We don’t need this experiment with the pink ball. Why? The last Test at Sydney was a sellout. The Oval Test between England and Pakistan drew a full house. And there was no pink ball there,” Bedi said on Tuesday.
According to him, if Tests were marketed as well as the Indian Premier League, there was no reason for people to not turn up at venues and added that better contests in Tests will attract more viewers.
“Attract them with good cricket.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 sell Test cricket properly. Organise good contests. Why are the administrators shirking their responsibility towards preserving history and tradition,” he said.
He further felt unlike the present format, it would be better off if the Duleep Trophy went back to the zonal format and expressed a lack of enthusiasm to the game.
“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,” he said.
Sourav Ganguly counters Bedi’s point of view
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who was key to staging the Super League final in the day-night avatar, countered Bedi's point by stating that the change was the need of the hour and the main objective was to bring more spectators to the venue.
“(It’s the)Need of the hour. Our main aim is to bring in spectators to the venue. This step is in that direction,” he said.
“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,” he added.