Second India-Bangladesh Test to be held under lights pending BCB approval

An ESPNcricinfo report states that the BCCI has requested for the second Test, to be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, to be contested under lights. "We are having this discussion but we haven't decided yet," BCB chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury told reporters. "We will only decide after speaking to the players and team management."

But while a response from Bangladesh is awaited, Kolkata is already preparing for the event. "We are waiting for the final go-ahead now, but yeah, we are expecting it to happen," Sujan Mukherjee, the Eden Gardens chief curator, said. "As such, there is nothing different for us to do. A pitch is a pitch, we are hoping to make it a sporting one, with some pace."

There are challenges that stand in front of the organisers, mostly in the form of the weather, with the city experiencing on-and-off rainfall over the last few days. Dew could be another factor once the floodlights take effect, and it could kick in sooner, with the sun setting earlier in east India than it does in other parts of the country.

"It has been raining intermittently for the past many days, and non-stop for the last three days. I am sure we will have time to do a good job, but we haven't been able to do much. Only the dew could be a concern, in the evening, in November. It will mean more work for us, drying the ground during the game."

Both India and Bangladesh are yet to play in a day-night Test. Outside of Afghanistan and Ireland, the two newest Full Member countries of the International Cricket Council, they are the only two countries to have not featured in a day-night Test so far.

Bangladesh has hosted only one game – the first-class final of the Bangladesh Cricket League in 2013 – under lights, while in India, the Duleep Trophy, a domestic first-class competition, has been played with the pink ball in the past.

A day-night Test has been in discussion for a while within Indian cricket circles now. New BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has already acknowledged that pink-ball games are the future of Test cricket, and said that it has the backing of Virat Kohli, the Indian captain.

India’s tour of Bangladesh begins on 3 November. The two teams will first clash in a three-match T20I series, followed by the first Test at Indore’s Holkar Stadium, between 14 and 18 November. The tour will then conclude with the second and final Test at the Eden Gardens, from 22 November onwards.