Pink ball is extremely hard to pick, reveals Mohammad Mithun

Bangladesh’s Mohammad Mithun revealed that the pink ball was a harsh learning experience for the team in their debut Day-Night game at the Eden Gardens. Mithun, who himself was on the receiving end of an Ishant Sharma bouncer on Day 2 of the game said that the pink ball is very hard to pick under the lights. 

"I saw the ball pitching and in which line it pitched. After pitching, when the ball landed, then the ball was cutting inside. And it was difficult for any batsman to judge. Because you can (only) leave bouncer after watching the pitch of the ball and I did not go to play because I was going to leave that ball but when the ball took the movement to inside, then I became totally blind and I had no reflexes," Mithun told Cricbuzz. 

Further, the batsman talked about the challenge of spotting the pink delivery, which according to him is the worst part of playing under the lights. Mithun’s twin failure did not affect his position, as Bangladesh continues to invest in the right-handed batsman at No.4. The right-hander added that the Day-Night test game gave him a clear picture on his own abilities, given that he has just played 7 Test matches for Bangladesh since his debut against Zimbabwe in 2018. 

Pink ball has had its issues in the recent past, with multiple cricketers commenting on the visibility issues attached with the ball under lights. While the Indian team addressed the issue after the game, Mithun has now added to it by adding on to what the Indian cricketers said. 

"I think the most difficult part about the pink ball is picking up the seam. We didn't have any experience with the pink ball. Practice and match are totally different. Like with the red ball you can pick up the seam early and make adjustment knowing in which direction it is going but with a pink ball that is not the case and more so during the twilight hour. At that point of time [during the twilight hour] pink ball swings more and pace also increases substantially even when the weather is damp and you just can't pick the seam,” he concluded.