Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is of the opinion that the traditional format of cricket might not see a rapid increase in turnout with the pink-ball Test and instead appealed to the authorities to take the games to smaller cities.
“Most of the other teams have already played it. It’s a great experiment no doubt, but I’m not sure if this format will bring back crowds to the stadiums. I don’t see pink ball bringing a lot of people to the ground, it might not be the case,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by ANI.
He added, “You have to do something about Test cricket. Probably taking the game to the smaller centres where people have not seen their heroes in action.”
The 39-year-old also suggested that alongside taking the game to smaller centres improvement of infrastructure is also a key factor to attract more crowds into the ground.
“If you have two strong teams playing against each other then only people will come to enjoy the game. Also, another big factor which I feel is that there is not much infrastructure for people. There are not good toilets and seats so people prefer to stay back in their home,” Harbhajan said.
However, despite his reservations, the Board of Control for Cricket in Indian (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly, on Tuesday, confirmed that the tickets for the first four days of India’s historic Day-Night Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata have been sold out.
India will be playing their first-ever game in pink ball after the BCCI and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) mutually decided to make the second Test of the two-match series a Day-Night affair, to be played from November 22.
Keeping in mind the historic relevance of the match, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has planned to make it a grand occasion. Alongside the political dignitaries like Union Home Minister Amit Shah, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, prominent sports personalities from the country have also been invited.