IND vs BAN | Pink ball will be very similar to red ball, believes Cheteshwar Pujara

The T20I series was a kind of a rollercoaster ride for team India, as they clinched the series 2-1 comfortably after the early falter in Delhi. The Bangladesh team performed exceptionally well to put up a fight against the men in blue even after their star players missed out the series. The conclusion of the series has now shifted the focus to India’s maiden day-night Test which is scheduled from November 22 at the Eden Gardens.

Saurashtra lad Cheteshwar Pujara, who is also considered the spine of India’s batting order in Tests, has opined the change in colour of the balls might not be the concern as he expects the pink ball to behave similarly as the red cherry.

“I don’t think there will be a major difference when you start playing with the pink ball. Since I haven’t played (against the SG pink ball) I am not sure, but my assumption is that even the SG pink ball will be very similar to the red ball. I feel in India the quality of SG balls have improved,” Sportstar quoted Pujara saying so.

“Looking at the recent series we played against South Africa, the guys were happy with the way the ball maintained shape and even the quality of the ball. So we are expecting the same thing even with the pink ball. When it comes to the pink ball, it will be a little different from the red ball but I don’t see a massive difference.”

Pujara has the experience of playing against the pink ball in the subcontinent during the 2016 season of Duleep Trophy. India’s Test No.3 topped the run charts as he piled up 453 runs that season as he struck two hundred, including a 256 not out for India Blue. Pujara believed that the experience will come in handy at the Eden.

“When I played, it was 2016/17 which is a long time ago. So that can’t be considered as an advantage. But yes, that experience will be very helpful for sure, without any doubt. When you have played with a pink ball, you know what to expect at what time and what might be on offer. So that experience does help,” Pujara asserted.

Pujara voiced his concern about the twilight period being a problem with the pink ball but also shared that practice will be the key to overcome it.

“Sometimes it is challenging in twilight playing with the pink ball. You need a little more practice and once you keep playing with the pink ball at that time (twilight), you start getting used to it.

“So it’s just about doing a few more practice sessions before we play the match. I will try and practise with the pink ball whenever there is an opportunity,” he said.

Pujara also spoke on the standard of teams going down, saying most teams are in transition now and it will take a couple of years for them to be back to where they were. India whitewashed both West Indies and South Africa away and at home respectively.

“If you look at Test cricket, most of the teams are in the transition phase. They are trying to build new Test teams. So, it might take some time for teams like West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa because their great players have retired and now they are giving the opportunity to young players which will need some time to improve their Test cricket.

“So when teams go through the transition period, it looks like the overall standard has come down a bit. But I think in 1-2 years’ time all these teams will be much stronger when it comes to Test cricket,” Pujara opined.