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IND v BAN 2019: "Visibility, a problem", Pujara weigh in over issues related to the pink ball 

IND v BAN 2019: "Visibility, a problem", Pujara weigh in over issues related to the pink ball 

India hosted Bangladesh in its historic first-ever D/N Test against Bangladesh.

The pink SG ball has been at the centre of attention | AFP

Cheteshwar Pujara scored a fine half-century in India's innings and 46-run victory in its first-ever D/N Test last week in Kolkata against Bangladesh. But the veteran Test specialist feels sighting the pink ball is an issue that needs addressing before more such games could be organised. 

The pink ball further had extra lacquer, more pronounced seam and swung a mile in the twilight period as well as under lights, a phase where dew perhaps helped sustain a fair balance of competition. 

Read Also: India wary of visibility & hardness of pink ball before future D/N Tests

"When it comes to red ball, visibility isn’t an issue at all during the day," Pujara told The Indian Express. "But with pink ball under lights, when you walk in to bat during the second or the third session, visibility can be a bit of a problem as you are sitting in the dressing room and suddenly you are walking in under lights."

Skipper Virat Kohli hasn't yet specifically pointed out his issues with the new version but he did say he wouldn't like the D/N Tests to become a norm. "I think this can be a one-off thing but it should not be a regular scenario," he said. "In my opinion, this should not become the only way Test cricket is played. Because then you are losing out on that nervousness of the first session in the morning."

Pujara echoed the view and said: "One-off Test match in a year is fine. If you want crowd to come in and create an atmosphere. But not on a regular basis I would say."

"I am sure Test cricket will be mainly played with the red ball. Once in a while, you might play with pink ball but majority of the game will be played with the red ball."

It is unknown whether the D/N Tests are here to say in Indian cricket with most of the players going one way and the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly the other. 

"We wanted to do this for Test cricket. It is so important. People were not turning up for Test cricket," he had told host broadcaster Star Sports

"We did a lot of things (promotion) during and before this Test. It was sold out all throughout even today though the game was expected to finish early."

"I remember the 2001 Test (India-Australia). There were more than 100,000 people in this stadium and you don't want champions like Kohli, Rohit or Ishant to play in front of empty stands. So, I am extremely happy to see this."

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 27 Nov, 2019

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