BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has on Tuesday (February 16) confirmed that the tickets for the third Test between India and England, a pink ball day-night match in Motera, Ahmedabad are “completely sold out”.
After the second Test which India won by 317 runs against England on Tuesday, the focus will now shift to the pink-ball Test to be played in Ahmedabad – the venue will also host the fourth and final Test.
Ahead of the upcoming day-night affair at the Motera, the world’s biggest cricket stadium, in Ahmedabad from February 24, Ganguly has expressed his happiness over the return of spectators in the stadiums while confirming that the tickets for the third Test have been “sold out”.
While the authorities have decided to allow 50 percent spectators, former India captain said BCCI wants to see all the seats and stands full at the newly-built Motera Cricket Stadium.
Ganguly told Star Sports: “Ahmedabad is completely sold out. Happy to see normalcy back. I spoke to Jay Shah and he’s very keen on these Test matches. Just for him also cricket is coming back to Ahmedabad after six-seven years because they built the new stadium.”
It will be the second day-night Test in India after they have played Bangladesh in a pink-ball Test match in Kolkata in 2019. The BCCI President added, “I have told him we have set an example with pink-ball Test last year in Kolkata, so it cannot go beyond that and we want to see every seat and stand full. And that’s what it is; the tickets have gone, as well as for the T20s which will follow the Tests.”
Ganguly also revealed that a day-night Test will be a permanent fixture in every home series and hopes for another enthralling pink-ball affair in Ahmedabad next week.
He continued, “Absolutely. One pink-ball Test in a series is ideal. Every generation goes through changes, pink ball is one of the main changes for Test match cricket, and to keep Test match cricket alive. I think with packed Ahmedabad stadium the next week will be another great sight for everyone.”
Meanwhile, the BCCI President also revealed that the decision on whether spectators would be allowed in the upcoming IPL 2021 will also be taken shortly but promises to have a great tournament.
He further noted, “This year is going to be big as well because of what it is. We’ll see whether we can get the crowd back into the IPL, it’s a decision we’ll have to take very shortly. But it’s going to be another great tournament.”
Ganguly signed off by saying about the IPL mini-auction, “It is not a big auction but a lot of teams will have a lot to fill. Especially, KKR and CSK will have a lot of work to do in the auction.”
(With PTI Inputs)
