India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin backed Day-Night Test matches saying it's the "way forward" for the longest format of the game while giving thumbs up to skipper Virat Kohli's idea of permanent Test centres.
"The pink ball Test match is a great welcoming sign," Ashwin told reporters after stumps on Day 1 of the first Test against Bangladesh on Thursday (November 14). "India as a Test playing country, it was necessary for us to play Day-Night Test. The office-going crowd which couldn't catch Test cricket can now do so."
WATCH - Pujara, Rahane weigh in over challenges for batsmen ahead of D/N Test
But there will obviously be the challenge of tackling the pink SG ball for spinners considering it'll have extra lacquer and there would possibly be a lot of dew around.
"Obviously, it's a challenge to play with the pink ball," Ashwin said. "The ball has a lot more lacquer. Personally I think it's the right direction we have taken, and hopefully, the Test match will be a historic moment and it will be the start of many more to come."
The timings and the re-laid surface in Kolkata will also be difficult to adjust to at the beginning. "For starters you can't sleep at 9 o' clock anymore in the night. Apparently, the game is starting at 1 pm," Ashwin said. "I've never played a pink ball game. I didn't play the Duleep Trophy that happened a few years ago. I haven't even bowled a single ball with the pink ball. Obviously I just saw it. Sometimes I don't understand if its orange or pink, still coming to terms with that," he added.
"I think having played in Kolkata before, it does a lot more in the evening and the pitch is re-laid. It does move a little bit with the white ball so you can imagine what could happen with the pink or orange ball. We are all little wary but excited about the game."
Ashwin then weigh in over Kohli's call to limit the number of Test venues in India to five. "Every other Test playing nation generally has a certain pattern of playing Test cricket," he said. "They do know how the venue behaves, how the pitch behaves, how the games pans out. That's perennially how Test cricket works in most parts of the world. Even in India, it was no exception."
"But of late, with a lot of cricketers coming from different parts of the country, cricket has grown and gone to every nook and corner which is a great sign. Hence we are having Test matches in various venues."
"The understanding of a particular venue and keeping it that way will help the players. Whether or not that's the right thing to do is something decision makers will have to take," Ashwin concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)
