After becoming the 39th president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), former skipper Sourav Ganguly on Friday emphasised the need for playing day/night Test matches to attract audiences to the stadiums.
His remarks came during a ceremony by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) felicitating him on his new appointment.
"We all are thinking about this. We will do something about it. I am a big believer of day/night Test matches, I do not know when will that happen. Till the time I am around, I will keep pushing about it. I must say, Virat Kohli, is agreeable to it. Once the captain of India agrees to it, life will become easier," Ganguly said during the ceremony.
"Yes you need to maintain the history of Test cricket, but you need to take the game forward. I am a firm believer of day/night Test matches, it can attract the audience to the stadiums. T20 cricket is seriously challenging the Test cricket, steps need to be taken," he added.
Ganguly also lauded the Indian cricket setup, saying the structure is very well balanced.
"I think it is pretty simple. The team has played really well in the last three years. You can say, we have not won ICC tournaments since 2013 but there is enough talent there. It is my job to help cricket and cricketers. Indian cricket has a very good structure, we have money and that is why you see the good state of stadiums," Ganguly said.
"Indian cricket has its own established structure. My job will be to help cricketers. My ambition is to ensure a good first-class structure. I would strive to make the facilities accessible to every budding cricketer in the country. I am a representation of cricketing fraternity and their credibility rests on my shoulders," he added.
The 47-year-old Ganguly also commented on the conflict of interest rule which has come under severe scrutiny. He said that the rule needs to be changed to allow cricketers to take administrative roles.
He also said that the relationship between captain and BCCI president is crucial for taking Indian cricket ahead.
"CoA has filed their status report and they have made the Supreme Court aware of the conflict of interest issue. You do not want to lose iconic cricketers like Sachin, Dravid on the basis of conflict of interest rule," Ganguly said.
"The relation between BCCI president and the Indian captain is very important. I have already said Virat Kohli is the most important man in Indian cricket. It is a job of everyone to make the team's job easier. People will only remember how many matches the side manages to win," he added.
Ganguly was elected as president on Wednesday during a general body meeting at the BCCI headquarters. He was the only candidate to file his nomination for the post and was elected unopposed.
The 47-year-old was also a part of the selection meeting on Thursday and he held talks with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to pick the squad for the upcoming T20I and Test series against Bangladesh.
He had led India to 21 Test wins and the final of the 2003 World Cup and he has already been an administrator for the Cricket Association of Bengal.
The southpaw also served in BCCI's technical committee and was also a member of the Cricket Advisory Committee along with Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.
Ganguly called time on his international career in 2008. He scored more than 18,000 international runs.
( With inputs from ANI )
