The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president-elect Sourav Ganguly, on Monday, said that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has confirmed her presence for the first day of the India-Bangladesh Test match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to be held from November 22 to 26.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has confirmed she will come. We will now send the invitation to India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. It will be for the first day of the second Test,” Ganguly was quoted as saying at the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) by news agency IANS.

The 46-year-old further informed that if everything fell in place Hasina could ring the iconic bell at the Eden to kickstart the Test between India and Bangladesh. The Bangla Tigers had played their first-ever Test match against India in 2000 and it has been learnt that the players of that team could also be invited for felicitation.

“We will write to the Bangladesh board now to also invite the Bangladesh players of their first Test match who played against India. I will write as BCCI President after I get elected to the players of that team (Indian as well). We will do a felicitation at the end of the first day’s play,” he added.

On the ongoing Bangladeshi cricketers’ strike issue, the former Indian captain expressed optimism and hoped the matter would be sorted by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the players would be on their flight to India.

The players decided to not take part in any cricket activities under the BCB after the board announced to abandon the Bangladesh Premier League’s (BPL) franchise-based model. The players have made out an 11-point demand, asking the board to reverse their decision.

The latest step of BCB has resulted in the average earning of a professional cricketer to an all-time low. Reportedly, the board has also not raised the match-fee in first-class competitions.

Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmadullah were some of the prominent players who took part in a press conference at the National Cricket Academy in Dhaka, on Monday, to announce their demands.