Sports / India to play their first-ever Day-Night Test vs Bangladesh in Kolkata

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has accepted the BCCI’s request to play the Kolkata Test under lights. The Eden Gardens will become the first-ever venue to host a day-night Test in India. Bangladesh are set to leave for India for an almost a month-long tour on Wednesday. They will play three T20 International before the two-match series commences on November 14.

The newly-elected BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had made it clear earlier that day-night Tests is the way to go forward in the longest format. He also met India skipper Virat Kohli during the selection meeting on October 24 and discussed the matter. After the meeting, the former Indian captain informed that Kohli was ‘agreeable’ to play with the pink ball.

Accordingly, things moved on swiftly and the BCCI placed a request before the BCB a couple of days ago to play the Kolkata Test under the lights.

BCB agrees to the request amidst the turmoil

There was little doubt that BCB will turn down the request. But the board had asked a little time to confirm and had stated that they will consult with the players and the management before giving a go-ahead. However, India Today reported the news that Bangladesh has accepted the BCCI‘s request and the historic Test will be played at the Eden Gardens.

The second Test is scheduled to be played on November 22 and a lot of big names are expected to attend the historic occasion including the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Meanwhile, Bangladesh cricket has suffered a huge setback with their Test and T20I skipper Shakib Al Hasan being charged for not reporting a bookie approach a year ago to the ICC.

He has been officially ruled out of the upcoming India tour now and Bangladesh is expected to announce the T20I squad now. The BCB chief Nazmul Hassan had indicated on Tuesday that the country’s premier all-rounder might miss the high-profile tour.

It remains to be seen now who takes up the captaincy of the team with Mushfiqur Rahim’s name coming up as the Test skipper. Mahmdullah or Mosaddek Hossain are likely to take over the T20I captaincy according to the reports.