MUMBAI: The signs are all good and indeed expected to be a welcome change from the sorry sight that greets usually greets television crews nowadays when India plays Test matches in the country – low fan count.
India’s inaugural day-night pink ball Test, which begins from November 22 at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens, and sees the Boys in Blue take on minnows Bangladesh, has already achieved a landmark at the ticket turnstiles.
Online tickets released till now for the first three days sold out in two days, a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) statement said on Wednesday.
“Thirty per cent of the saleable tickets for the first three days that were slotted for online sales have been sold out, while over 3,500 tickets for the fourth day of the Test have also been sold,” Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) secretary Avishek Dalmiya said.
“With the help of Global Cancer Trust, around 20 breast cancer survivors would be present on Day I of the Test and will be felicitated by the CAB… Cancer patients will have the chance to play at Eden Gardens on the third day,” Avishek added.
CAB has mega plans to make the occasion special with a clutch of stars from other sports set to grace the Test along with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has given her consent to come on Day 1.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been sent an invite. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also scheduled to be present.
Chess legend Viswanathan Anand and tennis star Sania Mirza will also be present along with World badminton champion PV Sindhu, six-time World champion boxer Mary Kom and India’s only Olympic Gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, whom the CAB plans to felicitate. Tennis great Leander Paes and badminton national coach Pullela Gopichand have also been invited, IANS reports.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said he is also trying to bring Sachin Tendulkar as part of the Indian team which took on Bangladesh for the first time in 2000. Bangladesh players from that team will also be there.
All former captains of the Indian team are to be invited for the first two days of the Test match and will be asked to share their favourite moments from India’s Test history.
Meanwhile, in a related development, reigning and former world chess champions Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand will in all likelihood ring the customary Eden bell on one of the days during the historic Test match.
The Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI is awaiting a confirmation from the Norwegian world champion, who would be competing in the Tata Steel Chess India – Rapid & Blitz 2019, the penultimate leg of the Grand Chess Tour, PTI reports.
“The BCCI has invited Carlsen to ring the Eden bell and if time permits, he along with Anand will be seen at the stadium in one of the five days,” Jeet Banerjee, director of Gameplan Sports, the official sponsors and branding partner of the tour, told the newswire here Thursday.
The CAB is also planning a charity match for HIV-positive children during the 40-minute supper break on the first day of the pink ball Test.
The overall capacity of the Eden is 67,000 – the highest in the country. But looking at the current scenario, it appears not many seats will be left vacant when the historic Test gets underway.
