India vs Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina accepts invitation to attend the Day-Night Test at Eden Gardens

Eden Gardens is one of the best cricket stadiums in India and it is set to add another important chapter in Indian Cricket history by hosting the first-ever Day-Night Test in the country. On Tuesday, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) gave a nod to BCCI‘s proposal to play the second of the two-match Test series under the lights.

Now, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accepted the invitation in order to attend the 2nd Test at Eden Gardens. The invite was sent by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) to PM of India and Bangladesh. However, as per CAB sources, Narendra Modi will not be able to attend the match. The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also been invited to watch the match.

Invitation from Ganguly led to Bangladesh PM accepting the invitation

Sheikh Hasina recited that Sourav phoned her after becoming BCCI chief and also asked her to attend the match, and she accepted the invitation. “Sourav has invited me. [He] Called me as he became the board president… a Bengali and was once a famous cricketer, so I told him I will go to Kolkata to watch the match,” Bangladesh PM said in Dhaka.

Later on, press secretary, Ihsanul Karim said that this is the first occasion that she will watch a Test match at Eden Gardens and gave information about her schedule for the match day. “The Prime Minister will take a 7 a.m. flight to Kolkata, inaugurate the match and return to Dhaka on the same evening. She likes Sourav a lot and as the invite came from him, the Prime Minister decided to inaugurate the match,” Karim told The Hindu.

Earlier, Sourav Ganguly had looked quite expressive about the need to organize a Day-Night Test. He felt that this is one of the ways to attract spectators towards the Test matches as it will allow people with the flexibility to come after finishing their office hours. He first discussed the proposal with Indian skipper Virat Kohli and as soon as he got his consent, BCCI chief sent the proposed idea to BCB.

But, due to some issues going between the Bangladesh players and their board, it took some time to take a final call over it. The Eden Gardens Test will commence on November 22. And it will be a new experience for India and Bangladesh team both as they have never featured in a Day-Night Test in the past.

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