Those who sit in that president’s room at the Cricket Association of Bengal office and go on to become the chief of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seem to have this ability to pull off out-of-the-box ideas. If Jagmohan Dalmiya was famous for those, his successor has started on a similar note. Not that day-night Tests are new. Eleven of them have already taken place, in six countries. But the first one in India is significant because of other reasons. If Test cricket needs a makeover to survive, it has to find acceptance at the game’s financial epicentre. By leading the initiative, Sourav Ganguly has begun his new innings on an impressive note.
It’s a bold move. The challenges confronting Test cricket are related not only to the hours of play. Duration and the prospect of a no-result after five days are its inherent drawbacks. Due to these and the thrills provided by the shorter formats, the sacred version has long lost its commercial relevance. But it continues to hold a place of pride among the fraternity, which keeps insisting that conserving this is priority. An eminent former captain championing its cause at the beginning of a fresh venture is a huge boost to an ailing industry. If India shows the way, Test cricket can think of a more meaningful existence.
Hosting the second India-Bangladesh Test under floodlights also shows that Ganguly the administrator is unafraid of taking tough decisions. Different interpretations were made of the circumstances in which he became the BCCI president in a team of young office-bearers. In one swift stroke, he has shown that he cares for the future of cricket and is different from the stereotypical board official more concerned with administrative politics.
A top-class former player calling the shots and getting heard in a set-up where cricketers were unwelcome is a big departure from the past. The path for Ganguly now on will have new challenges. By making a sound start, he has raised expectations that he will be different from those who used to deal with them in the past.