Sourav Ganguly cools speculation of India playing two day-night Tests in Australia

What’s the story?

BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly recently cooled speculation that talked about the possibility of India playing two day-night Tests when they tour Australia in 2020-21. The former Indian skipper said that two such fixtures in a four-match series might just be a ‘bit too much’.

In case you didn’t know

Before November, India were one of the few Test-playing nations not to play a pink-ball encounter. However, with the appointment of Ganguly at the helm, the Indians swiftly agreed to hosting a day-night Test against Bangladesh in the recently concluded rubber. The hosts won the match comfortably and the game saw the Eden Gardens being packed to the brim.

The heart of the matter

As part of India’s ICC World Test Championship schedule, they would be touring Australia towards the end of 2020 and the start of 2021. A four-match series is slated to be fought between the two sides, with several rumours indicating that the Australians were hoping for two day-night games among them.

Ganguly, though, was quick to brush away those beliefs as he quipped that such a circumstance might just prove to be a bit too much. He said,

"Whether India go to play two day-night Tests in Australia is not assured. Two out of four would be a bit too much with the pink ball. We will assess it. I read it in the newspapers this morning. I haven't heard anything from the Australian cricket board. We will deal with it as it comes."

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Cricket Australia chief, Earl Eddings was slightly more confident about that prospect as he remarked,

"Pleasingly, they've played their first day-night Test and won easily. Now they've got through that it might give them the right build-up to it over here. I've got no doubt they'll consider playing one and maybe even more day-night Test matches. But that's down the track to when we catch up with them in January."

What's next?

It would be interesting to see how this narrative pans out and if India indeed agree to play two pink-ball Tests when they travel Down Under at the end of 2020.