India vs Bangladesh: Day/night Test can be one-off thing, says Virat Kohli
'You can bring excitement into Test cricket but you can't purely make Test cricket based on just entertaining people. Entertainment of Test cricket lies in the fact that a batsman is trying to survive a session and the bowler is trying to set up a batsman (to get him) out. If people don't respond to that, too bad,' Virat Kohli said ahead of India's day/night Test
FollowKolkata: Ahead of the historic pink ball Test against Bangladesh, India captain Virat Kohli said the day/night Test cannot be a regular feature but is only a “one-off thing”.
India and Bangladesh will clash in the second Test of the two-match series from tomorrow (November 22). This is the first-ever day/night Test in India. The hosts already hold a 1-0 lead in the series after winning in Indore.
Also read: Sachin Tendulkar speaks on day/night Test's success
On the eve of the Test, Kohli said on Thursday (November 21), “I think this can be a one-off thing but it should not be a regular scenario. In my opinion, this should not become the only way Test cricket is played. Because then you are losing out on that nervousness of the first session in the morning.”
There is something pristine about Test cricket and it the skipper in no way wants the on-field trials and tribulations faced in white flannels to be compromised one bit.
“You can bring excitement into Test cricket but you can't purely make Test cricket based on just entertaining people. Entertainment of Test cricket lies in the fact that a batsman is trying to survive a session and the bowler is trying to set up a batsman (to get him) out. If people don't respond to that, too bad,” Kohli said.
Kohli believes that loving Test cricket is an organic feeling and not something compulsory.
“If I don't like Test cricket, you can't push me into liking it. If someone gets excitement or boost from watching the battle between bat and ball and great session of Test cricket, in my opinion those are the people that should come and watch Test cricket because they understand what's going on.”
India's last series against South Africa witnessed a less than encouraging turn-out and the result was this D/N Test as Sourav Ganguly took the initiative up front after becoming the Board president.
“Yes, it's great to create more buzz around Test cricket. The first four days here are sold-out, which is amazing for Test cricket.”
“Imagine the boost our bowlers have standing at the mark with some 80,000 (67,000) fans cheering for him. I am expecting very exciting cricket in the first hour because the energy level will be very high. I am sure the fans would enjoy it. It's a landmark Test and we are lucky to be the first Indian team playing it. It's a great honour,” he concluded.
Kohli also advocated former India captain and NCA Director Rahul Dravid's idea of having a proper calendar to revive Tests.
“It would bring a lot more system and a lot more sync into people planning their calendars as well. It can't be random. If you have centres which are marked and if you have Test calendars, which are marked, people will have a better system as to how we can plan to get into those Tests.
“People are not just going to leave work and come to a Test match if they don't know what's going on. They can plan things. I think this can be a one-off thing, it should not be a regular scenario,” he maintained.
(With inputs from PTI)
