Australia to ask BCCI to play more than one day-night Test during India in 2021 tour Down Under

Cricket Australia is set to request the Board of Control for Cricket in India to play more than one day-night Test during India’s 2021 tour Down Under when officials of the two boards meet on the sidelines of the ODI series in January, according to a report in ESPNCricinfo.

CA feels encouraged about the proposal after India played their first pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata last month. A CA delegation, led by its Chairman Earl Eddings, will meet BCCI top brass during the three-match ODI series in India starting January 14 next year.

“As you build that trust and build that relationship you have that chat,” Eddings was quoted as saying.

“Pleasingly they’ve played their first day-night Test and won easily. Now they’ve got through that it might give them the right build-up to it over here. I’ve got no doubt they’ll consider playing one and maybe even more day-night Test matches. But that’s down the track to when we catch up with them in January,” he added.

Day-night Tests will mean better a time slot for Indian broadcasters as well, with matches beginning at dawn in India.

CA Chief Executive Kevin Roberts, while talking to ABC Radio recently, also spoke about having more than one day-night Tests during what is meant to be a four-match Test series.

“...in my heart I’d say four from four, in my head we’d love to play one of the four as a day-night Test, he said.

Eddings said CA also wants the BCCI to consider adding one more Test to the traditional four-match series that the two countries play.

“Ideally we want to be playing five Tests against India, hopefully in the future we can do that as well,” he said.

India’s first day-night Test was a result of the initiative taken by new BCCI President Sourav Ganguly. He asked Bangladesh to play the Kolkata Test with the pink ball within a week of taking over on October 23.