Ahead of pink-ball Test, biggest cheer at Eden Gardens not for Virat Kohli!

It’s rare that cheers for Kohli seem subdued compared what is accorded to another person who is not a current player. Maybe it will be different when the captain walks out in front of a full house.
A flurry of activities is marking the build up to the first ever Day-Night Test in the country to be played between India and Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens here from November 22. (Photo | Instagram)
A flurry of activities is marking the build up to the first ever Day-Night Test in the country to be played between India and Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens here from November 22. (Photo | Instagram)

KOLKATA: There was this customary cheer from the few hundreds gathered outside Eden Gardens for Virat Kohli’s team, when they came for practice on Wednesday afternoon. Shortly before that, the Bangladesh contingent also got a generous round of applause when they were leaving after a nets session. But the biggest noise was reserved for someone else.

It was near bedlam in front of the gate when Sourav Ganguly arrived at around 2.30 pm. There was this small circle of humanity around the BCCI president wherever he went. Not many could get close when he went in for an inspection of the pitch and ground. The moment he stepped out, he was surrounded again. The crowd followed as he headed towards his office upstairs.

Not that everybody was singing in praise of him. There was a group of about 50 outside the stadium premises holding an impromptu demonstration against the person who vacated the seat of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president after taking charge of BCCI. Identifying themselves as life members of the association, they were claiming that they have not received the tickets they are entitled to. “Is he (Ganguly) changing ticket distribution rules?” asked one of them.

But be it agitation or adulation, everything was reserved for him, with more of the latter. In a starched white shirt buttoned at the sleeves and dark trousers, Ganguly was the cynosure. In a lot of ways, India’s inaugural day-night Test is about him. It was he who took the initiative and convinced an initially-reluctant Indian team to take the pink ball plunge at a short notice. A firm believer that this is the way ahead, he wasted no time after becoming BCCI president in making sure that India accepts what the rest of the cricket world already has.

In doing so, knowingly or unknowingly, he has cornered all the attention. It’s rare that cheers for Kohli seem subdued compared what is accorded to another person who is not a current player. Maybe it will be different when the captain walks out in front of a full house. For a change, Eden Gardens belonged to the former captain on Wednesday. ‘Lord of what he surveys’ has become a cliché, but that is how it was. Adulation reached such a point that he had to summon security personnel to clear the crowd around him.

It’s not that cricket followers of only the new generation are finding the concept appealing. “I’ve congratulated Sourav for the initiative,” said Chandu Borde, who will be at Eden in a group of former India stars to be felicitated during this match. “Test cricket is losing its appeal, which is evident in the low turnouts. If this experiment succeeds and people start watching Tests, nothing like it. One has to keep pace with time and embrace new ideas,” added the octogenarian.

“Very excited,” is how Ganguly described his state of mind. “Look at the response. Tickets for the first four days are gone. The atmosphere out there under the lights will be tremendous. If the response is encouraging, we will think of more of this.” There will be plenty of encouragement if the ticket sales are anything to go by. And knowingly or unknowingly, one man will get a lion’s share of the credit if the concept becomes a hit. 

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