'I just hope this marks the beginning of where we get huge crowds coming into the stadium and Test cricket gets its credit,' said Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of the India-Bangladesh day/night Test
Kolkata: Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is hoping that the day/night Test in Kolkata marks the beginning of getting “huge crowds” to stadiums in the five-day format.
Ashwin was speaking ahead of India’s maiden pink ball Test against Bangladesh at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens from November 22.
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India lead the two-Test series 1-0 after winning the opening contest in Indore by an innings and 130 runs.
The players are already in Kolkata training for the Test. According to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, the tickets for the opening four days of the Test are sold out.
“I just hope this marks the beginning of where we get huge crowds coming into the stadium and Test cricket gets its credit and obviously with the change in timings people can afford to finish their work and come into the game, watch it and enjoy it,” Ashwin said on Star Sports.
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His teammate Mohammed Shami is focussed on the challenges that await him in the game.
“The middle session should be the main focus for batsman while using the pink ball unlike the morning session that is usually considered the most important in a test match as it will have more of a swing in Eden Gardens,” he said.
Shami said the bowlers will have to work very hard to extract any assistance from the pink ball.
“...the pink ball is only useful when there a hard and grassy wicket because the ball goes straight.
“Pink ball is a very different ball and doesn't work like the white or red ball at all so there is a very low possibility that in the last session we get a swing or reverse so we will have to work very hard,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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