Reports | BCCI reconsidering hosting day-night Tests following complaints from players

Reports | BCCI reconsidering hosting day-night Tests following complaints from players

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The pink-ball Test in Motera turned out to be a disaster

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The BCCI are reportedly skeptical about hosting day-night pink-ball Test matches in the future after having received multiple complaints from Indian players regarding the nature of the pink-ball. Though India eventually won the Test by 10 wickets, the third Test turned out to be a lottery.

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad - the largest stadium in the world - had an emphatic inauguration, but the action on the field turned out to be a disappointment as India and England, earlier this week, played out the shortest Test match since World War II. On a wicket that was nothing but a lottery, a remarkable 30 wickets fell in under 150 overs as India out-fluked England and got over the line despite getting bowled out for a paltry 145 in their first innings.

Much has been said and written about both the pitch and the SG pink-ball, but it is now believed that, despite defending the conditions in public, the Indian players are said to have been left disappointed by the spectacle that was the pink-ball Test. According to a report by the Indian Express, multiple players are said to have complained about both the visibility and the nature of the pink-ball, with them left unsatisfied by the overall experience of the day-night Test.

As a result, the BCCI are now reportedly said to be reconsidering hosting day-night Tests following a plethora of complaints.

“What the players say is important. We will take a call soon on whether we should host pink-ball Tests in the future,” Indian Express quoted a BCCI official as saying.

“The problem when facing the pink ball is that it skids much faster compared to the red ball. Muscle memory makes batsmen believe that the ball will come at a particular speed after pitching, like they are used to when playing with the red ball. But the pink ball comes much faster. This is a major issue. Also, our players are not keen to play Day-Night Tests because the pink ball has too many variables, including difficulty in sighting the ball.”

Inconsistent turn resulted in close to two dozen batsmen getting out either LBW or bowled to straighter deliveries, and this resulted in the match coming to a conclusion in under two days. A player from the Indian side, whose identity remains anonymous, claimed that the main source of the debacle was the pink-ball, and asserted that the game would have gone 4 days had it been played with a conventional red cherry.

“The pitch was as good as the Chennai track (for the first two Tests). If we had played with the red ball here, the game would have lasted four days,” an Indian player told Indian Express.

The fourth and final Test of the series is also scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad, from March 4, but it will be a red-ball encounter. India currently are leading the series 2-1, and only need to avoid defeat in order to progress to the final of the World Test Championship. 

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