New Delhi: India have not yet asked for a turning track to be prepared at Eden Gardens for the first Test against South Africa, Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly has said.
Both teams have arrived in Kolkata for the series opener that begins on Friday and India head coach Gautam Gambhir inspected the pitch on Monday along with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.
Ganguly also took a look at the pitch on Monday evening before the entire square areas was out under cover as protection from rain and unseasonal showers.
“Well, they haven’t asked for it yet. So, I won’t be able to answer the question. It looks a very good one,” Ganguly said
‘Sporting wicket’
CAB curator Sujan Mukherjee said Gamhir was “happy to see the wicket” that hasn’t been watered since Saturday.
He said Gambhir asked when it would start to turn and was told it could from day three onwards on a track that traditionally hasn’t been a rank-turner and offers assistance to seamers before progressively becoming batting friendly leadint to turn at the later stages.
“It’s going to be a good sporting wicket with help for both batters and bowlers. There will be assistance on offer for the spinners as well, and that can happen early as well,” Mukherjee said.
As Eden will host a Test match after six years, the last being India’s first-ever day-night match, against Bangladesh in November 2019, CAB Has plans to make the occasion memorable.
CAB will host a lecture before the match named after former BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya where Sunil Gavaskar will be the keynote speaker.
A special coin featuring Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela on either has also been minted, and there has been a sharp response to ticket sales.
“Thirty-four thousand priced tickets have been sold out as we expect a good turnout,” Ganguly said.