BCCI has requested Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend the proceedings on the first day of the Kolkata Test
Sourav Ganguly. Picture courtesy: Sourav Ganguly's Instagram account
Kolkata: Ahead of India's first-ever day/night Test, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has not left any stone unturned to make the event 'fantastic'. India are set to play their second Test of the series against Bangladesh under lights with a pink ball at Eden Gardens from November 22-26. "We will make it a fantastic event, work is on. In three or four days time I will be able to give you a concrete picture of what is happening. It will be a huge event," Ganguly told reporters here.
BCCI has requested Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend the proceedings on the first day of the Kolkata Test. "Sheikh Hasina will come. We have also requested Prime Minister Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and the state Governor. We will felicitate the players of the first Test in 2000, when India played Bangladesh. Everybody will be available. I'm trying to get hold of Sachin, rest everybody will be available," Ganguly said.
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The board will also felicitate shuttler PV Sindhu and pugilist Mary Kom for their recent performances. "We will felicitate Mary Kom and PV Sindhu for their achievements this year," Ganguly said. After meeting with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) head Rahul Dravid, Ganguly said "they do a lot of good work". "Basically wanted to know about the functions of NCA. We are building a new NCA. We met him separately and found out what is a way forward. I think they do a lot of good work at the NCA," Ganguly said.
"Actually, a lot of work goes into NCA. It is right in the heart of the city in Bangalore and you would not get a location like this. I think KCA does help a lot, don't even charge a penny for BCCI using those facilities. The bigger space will be better. So once that's complete the NCA will get a lot bigger," he added. The first T20I between India and Bangladesh will go as per schedule despite the poor air quality in Delhi.
"We have spoken to Delhi authorities in the last two days. They are expecting the match to go through but it was already scheduled so we could not cancel it at the last minute. We came in on October 28 and it was too late to do anything because a lot of preparations go in matches; tickets, crowd, and everything. So it is not possible to cancel things in the last minute," Ganguly said.
"Post Diwali is a bit of a difficult time in the North because the winter comes in and so does a lot of smoke and dust. In the future when we schedule, especially in the northern parts of India in the winter, we have to be a little bit more practical," he added. "I have spoken to the groundsman he says once the sun comes out it will be fine. He was my groundsmen in Delhi Capitals so I know him a bit more. Everything will be fine and we want the game to happen," Ganguly said.
When asked about Rahul Dravid's conflict of interest matter, he said: "This is an old matter but the last status report was put out in court where they have addressed this conflict and the next hearing is on November 27, so will see." BCCI's Ethics Officer Justice DK Jain asked former cricketer Rahul Dravid to appear in person for the second time on the conflict of interest allegations levelled against him.
The Ethics Officer has asked Dravid to depose himself on November 12 for further clarifications.
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