Sourav Ganguly-led technical committee to provide inputs on day-night Tests
The BCCI looks to be taking its intentions to host a day and night Test pretty seriously and have turned towards the Sourav Ganguly-led technical committee for their inputs. As per reports, a meeting involving technical committee members is scheduled to take place in Bangalore on Sunday and it will also include BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke. India are likely to play their first day and night Test when the New Zealand team comes touring in the month of October. The key agenda of the meeting will be about planning how things are to be taken forward.
Another important point of discussion will be the format of the Duleep Trophy, which is being looked at as a curtain raiser for the day and night Test. According to the board’s plans, at least five matches of the inter-zonal tournament are likely to be day-night games. However, prior to arriving at any such decision, the governing body of Indian cricket wants to take the opinion of the technical committee members.
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Based on the recommendations of the committee, which consists of former cricketers like Sourav Ganguly, Debasis Mohanty and R Sudhakar Rao and umpire VK Ramaswamy, BCCI will finalise the venues for the Duleep Trophy day-night fixtures. The dew factor may have an adverse impact on the matches and therefore, the board would have to target venues where it does not come into play.
Day-night Tests are being recognised all over the cricketing world as the best possible innovation to generate more interest in the longest format of the game. The first ever day-night Test played between Australia and New Zealand last year turned out to be a great success and has prompted cricketing nations to contemplate the idea of hosting one themselves.
The chances of India hosting a day-night Test this year are getting stronger with each passing day and BCCI’s meeting with the technical committee may turn out to be a huge step in the direction of making it possible.