BCCI: No pink ball games this season

India

India will not be hosting any day-night Tests during the current home season, the BCCI have confirmed, as they want to do further research.

There was speculation that a pink ball Test could be on the cards for India during this 13-Test home season, but BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur says it’s too soon, and they want to have more of a look.

The Duleep Trophy was played under lights recently, and went very well, Thakur admitted, but the board felt it was too soon to take it to the international level.

Thakur told PTI: “It is too early to say anything.

“As far as trying it in Duleep Trophy under lights is concerned, it was a big success. But you need to look at overall picture before you take the final call.

“I think we need to look into many areas before we take the final call. I would like to go into details in a scientific manner to take the final call.

“As of now, we are not ready to implement pink ball this season.

“I think we need to take the final call after keeping a few things in mind. First, how to make it more interesting and result-oriented. If you have matches like the one in Kanpur, well done.”

He then added more about their reasoning: “With the red ball, you can have reverse swing after 20-25 overs, but with pink you can’t. So the challenge for batsman goes away.

“Second, how do you involve more fans who come to the ground or watch it on TV?

“Third, you really need to look into areas as to how (the pink ball) is impacting Test cricket at a time when enough people are not coming to watch Test cricket. What are the real reasons behind it?

“Even if you have to play with pink ball, you should play two-three seasons with it in domestic cricket. Let us look at the ball, how it behaves, how the grounds behave.”

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