‘Ahmedabad is completely sold out, want to see every seat and stand full’: Sourav Ganguly

Ganguly expressed his happiness over the return of spectators in the cricket stadiums. He said that BCCI wants to see all the seats and stands full at the newly-built Motera Cricket Stadium.

After defeating England by 317 runs in the second Test on Tuesday, Virat Kohli-led team India will now shift their focus to the pink-ball Test which begins on February 24 in Ahmedabad.

Motera Stadium, Ahemdabad (GCA Motera / Twitter)

Ahead of the upcoming day-night affair, former Indian captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly have confirmed that tickets for the third Test are ‘completely sold out’.

Speaking on Star Sports, Ganguly expressed his happiness over the return of spectators in the cricket stadiums. He said that BCCI wants to see all the seats and stands full at the newly-built Motera Cricket Stadium.

“Ahmedabad is completely sold out. I speak to Jay Shah and he's very keen on these Test matches. Just for him also cricket is coming back to Ahmedabad after six-seven years because they built the new stadium, and I have told him we have set an example with pink-ball Test last year in Kolkata, so it cannot go beyond that and we want to see every seat and stand full. And that's what it is, the tickets have gone, as well as for the T20s which will follow the Tests,” Ganguly told Star Sports.

“We wanted the fans back. We could have had them in the first Test in Chennai but we decided to go with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, who said let's see how it goes for the first one because it's our first game after a long time and we'll open it up for the second Test. I know the Gujarat Cricket Association will add a bit more to the cricket, not just with the game but a lot of other things around the game. It's going to be a great Test match for everyone,” he added.

Talking about the prospects of pink-ball Tests, Ganguly said that one day-night match in a series is 'ideal' as it would help in keeping the 'Test match cricket alive'

“Absolutely. One pink-ball Test in a series is ideal. Every generation goes through changes, pink ball is one of the main changes for Test match cricket, and to keep Test match cricket alive. I think with Ahmedabad packed stadium in the next week will be another great sight for everyone," said Ganguly.

After losing the first Test by 227 runs, India came back strong in the second Test and defeated the English visitors by 317 to level the series 1-1.

Following this remarkable win, Virat Kohli-led India remain in the race of ICC World Test Championship final which is scheduled to be held in April 2021 at the Lord’s. They have also propelled to the second position on the points table with 69.7 percentage points. However, they cannot afford to lose another match as they would need to win the series either 2-1 or 3-1 to qualify.