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Eden Gardens will host India’s first-ever pink ball cricket match — the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Super League final from June 17 to 20. The game will be played under lights with a pink Kookaburra ball and will be telecast by Star Sports live across India. The Super League, featuring top eight teams in local cricket, has been introduced by the CAB this season, to streamline Bengal’s Ranji Trophy team selection.
A day/night final is CAB president Sourav Ganguly’s idea as he thinks pink ball cricket is the “way forward” as far as the longest format is concerned. Also, with the BCCI seriously mulling hosting a couple of Test matches under lights in the coming season, the CAB is sniffing an opportunity — possibly against Australia in March next year.
“Pink ball cricket indeed is the way forward. Test cricket’s popularity has been steadily declining and we must do something to arrest the slide. The pink ball Test in Australia last year received overwhelmingly positive response (from the fans) and we must embrace the change. The Super League final under lights is an experiment with an eye to hosting day/night Tests in the near future. I think it would be a very good experience,” Ganguly told The Indian Express.
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“We (CAB) are not claiming any TV rights (from the broadcaster) for the event. Star Sports will bear the whole expense of the final. They will do their promos on TV. Pink Kookaburras will be used and we have already procured the shipment,” he added.
The CAB is doing the necessary groundwork to ensure a successful hosting of the match. “Certain conditions are required for the pink ball to hold up for a substantial period. We have spoken to Kookaburra’s subcontinent head and will follow the advice,” secretary Abhishek Dalmiya said.
The BCCI technical committee, headed by Ganguly, has already put forward the proposal to play the Duleep Trophy matches in the coming season with under lights.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
