One pink-ball Test in every series: Sourav Ganguly’s message to Virat Kohli & Co.

Indian captain Virat Kohli was sceptical of Day-Night Test cricket becoming the new norm after India hosted its first-ever pink-ball Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata against Bangladesh last month. While the newly-elected Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) admitted that not every Test should be played like that, he does want the Indian team to play one Test every series with the pink ball.

Since the arrival of T20 cricket, the turnout for Test matches across the world has reduced, with the stadiums witnessing a problem where not many come out to see teams battle it out in the traditional format of the game. The pink-ball Test, however, saw Eden Gardens being sold out as India decided to bite the bullet and take a step forward to revive the fortunes of 5-day format.

Since the Bangladesh match, Australian Test captain Tim Paine has also proposed a pink-ball Test in Australia during India’s next visit Down Under. As far as Ganguly is concerned, the day-night Test between India and Australia at Adelaide next year does seem like a possibility.

“I am pretty upbeat about it,” Ganguly told ‘The Week’ magazine. “I feel this is the way forward. Not every test, but at least one test in a series. I will share my experiences with the board and we will try and implement it in other places. After this, everyone is ready. Nobody wants to play test cricket in front of 5,000 people.”

With the pink-ball cricket certainly adding the entertainment factor to Test cricket, Kohli had recently said that the longest format should be followed for its traditional value and not entertainment. Hence it could be an exception but shouldn’t become a part of mainstream cricket.

“I think (day-night tests) can be a one-off thing, it should not be a regular scenario,” Kohli had said in Kolkata.

The BCCI chief and India captain will surely have a word on the subject the next time they meet. As for India, they are next scheduled to play a Test series against New Zealand beginning February 21, 2020.