Indian team not keen on playing Pink-ball Test: Report

The pitch for the third Test between India and England in Motera has received some criticism after the spinners rattled the batting line ups. While Axar Patel scalped 11 wickets in the match, Ashwin picked up 7, Jack leach and Joe Root got four and five wickets respectively. 

While the track created some controversies, the Indian players are reluctant to play the pink-ball Test. 

As per a report in The Indian Express, the team management is taking the feedback from the players pretty "seriously” . “What the players say is important. We will take a call soon on whether we should host pink-ball Tests in the future,” a BCCI official told the paper.

“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,” a member of the Indian team management said. 

Opening batsman Rohit Sharma who scored a crucial half-century in the first innings and remained not out at 25 in the second in India’s 10-wicket win at the Narendra Modi Stadium explained how the batsmen have to tweak the approach while facing the pink ball. 

“The red ball does not come on so quickly onto the bat. It also has got to do with the conditions in the evening. The temperature goes down a degree or two plus there’s the dew factor as well. But all in all, the pace of the pink ball is slightly quicker than the red ball. It is something that we need to adjust to as quickly as possible and understand what we need to do.”

India have so far played three Day-night Test where they have won two and lost one in Adelaide after the side was bowled out for 36.