Playing with pink ball requires right conditions, says Dravid
Jun 22, 2016 at 10:46 AM
Legendary batsman Rahul Dravid has warned the cricket officials about providing apt playing conditions in order to succeed with the pink ball. Ever since its inception, it has been surrounded by a lot of issues, most notably the playing conditions to suit the pink ball.
“One of the things we can’t afford is we do the experiment without the right conditions and the players switch off from it. I think if it goes wrong initially you will find the players could switch off from it. We need to give it the best chance to succeed,” Dravid said.
Dravid, who represented India in 164 Tests, said that the latest experiment may draw more fans to stadiums.
“I would love to see a day-night Test match in India because very clearly there are grounds in this country where people don’t come and watch. I think each country and each situation could be unique, we can’t just say that because a Test match succeeded in Adelaide, it might not succeed in the winter in India because of the dew.
“I am glad we had this match in Kolkata and the Duleep Trophy will be played under lights,” he said.
International Cricket Council’s efforts to popularize the day-night test is gathering steam as a lot of countries have already announced their plans about playing with the pink ball. Australia and South Africa will play a day-night Test in Adelaide in November, and the West Indies have also agreed in principle to play one against Pakistan in UAE later this year.
The wall, as Dravid is fondly known, said that with the passage of time the new concept will be accepted by the players.
“I think it’s natural to be wary when you first start, it’s stepping into the unknown a little bit. But as more and more matches are played, like we saw with the success of the Test in Adelaide, I think players will warm to the idea,” Dravid told ESPN Cricinfo.
“But there are things that are different in every Test match in each and every country that you play in that are unique to that country and surface as well. So, I don’t think that’s something that should count as a negative.”