India vs Bangladesh: Better stadium facilities needed apart from Day/Night games to revive Tests in India, says Dravid

Kolkata is just two nights away from hosting India’s inaugural day-night Test match against Bangladesh. While both teams are excited to start proceedings with the pink ball under lights, the cricketing fraternity expects the colossal Eden Gardens to be packed to the brim.

BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly and the CAB have left no stone unturned to make the historic event a telling success but Ganguly’s ex-teammate and legendary former cricketer, Rahul Dravid believes India need to cover more ground in terms of fan-experience to bring in larger audiences for Test cricket.

According to Dravid, the current head of the National Cricket Academy, better facilities for spectators at the venue would encourage a healthy foot-fall. At an event in Singapore on Tuesday, he said,

It is not the only solution to rejuvenate Test cricket, but it is one of the things we need to do. If only we are able to control dew, the pink-ball Test can become an annual feature in India.

He further added,

However, a number of other factors need to be looked into while trying to understand why Test cricket fails to attract crowds, including facilities available for fans inside the stadium. The Pune Test between India and South Africa in October was one in which those in the crowd complained about the lack of basic facilities for fans across five days. Basic things like toilets, seating, car parking need to be looked into, these are things that will draw [more people].

The former right-handed batsman also endorsed the idea of having a set cricket calendar so that fans could prepare their itineraries better. He felt India could take cue out of Australia and England’s system, where a fan has the luxury of planning to witness a Boxing Day Test match or a particular fixture well in advance.

For starters, the upcoming Test match in the city of joy is expected to be a massive hit. And, it could pave the way for other Test venues in India to taste success in the red-ball format when it comes to attracting spectators to the ground.