Rahul Dravid Extends His Support To Day-Night Test Matches

Team India will play their first day-night Test when they host Bangladesh in the second and final match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata starting from November 22 (Friday). The International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced this change to reinvent red-ball cricket and bring back crowds in the stadium. Former India skipper Rahul Dravid also backed the idea saying that pink-ball Tests are a welcome addition to get crowds back in Test matches.

The newly-elected BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has been a great advocate of day-night games. Since taking over the chair, Ganguly was hell-bent to organise a Test match under the lights. He got India skipper Virat Kohli and Bangladesh Cricket Board on the same page and decided Eden Gardens; his hometown, as the venue for the day-night Test.

Getting ready for the Pink ball Test be like ?? #TeamIndia #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/BtwfEwFKwN

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 17, 2019

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Dravid welcomes the move

The former India skipper has always spoken about trying different methods to keep the traditional form of the game alive. And now, Rahul Dravid also spoke on the same lines and said that if the dew problem can be solved, it can be an annual program from the BCCI. He also added that will be one of the measures to attract people to the ground as they can come after completing their office hours.

“It is not the only solution to rejuvenate Test cricket, but it is one of the things we need to do. If only we are able to control dew, the pink ball Test can become an annual feature in India,” Economic Times quoted Dravid saying. “You make it tough for the bowlers when the ball gets wet and takes the swing away… it (pink ball) is a novelty that will attract people to the stadium and must be tried,” he added.

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Speaking further, Rahul Dravid, who now heads the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, stated that the only aspect of the Test which players will need to get used to is how the ball will behave when the dew sets in during the transition from daylight to night-time. A few Test specialists practised with the pink-ball under the watchful eyes of Dravid before the start of the Test series at the NCA.

“We trained at 6pm. For the first hour or so, it was fine. Only around 7.30 pm did the dew come in, and that’s my only concern. To get the crowds back into the stadium, the pink ball Test is a welcome addition,” Dravid concluded.