Manchester City's Micah Richards rings bell at Eden Gardens on day three

Kolkata: Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards on Sunday rang the bell here at the Eden Gardens to start day three of the ongoing day-night Test between India and Bangladesh.

"Former England defender Micah Richards rings the bell at the Eden Gardens ahead of the start of play on Day 3.@Paytm #INDvBAN #PinkBallTest," BCCI tweeted.

It is a tradition at the Eden Gardens to ring the bell at the stadium to kick start proceedings before the start of play.

On day two of the match, it was rung by five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and current champion Magnus Carlsen on Saturday.

While, on the opening day, the honours were performed by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at 12:58 in the presence of BCCI president Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah.

Manchester City has been conducting a trophy tour in India and Micah Richards has come to the country in order to promote the club in three centres-- Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata.

Earlier, speaking about the popularity of football in the country, Richards had said, "The trip has been good. I like how passionate the fans are. Cricket is immensely popular here, but to bring football and to see how much it is growing in the country, it is incredible".

Richards was a part of the Premier League winning Manchester City side during the 2011-12 season.

He was finally released by Manchester City in 2015. Being a defender, he managed to score nine goals for the club.

The 31-year-old has represented Manchester City, Fiorentina, and Aston Villa during his senior football stint.

He made his England debut in 2006 and in the process, he had become the youngest defender to be called into the England lineup.

Richards received 13 international caps between 2006 and 2012.