BCCI keeps mum on future of pink-ball cricket in India

With Australia, South Africa and England experimenting by playing Day-night Tests with the pink-ball, India seems to be the one lagging behind. The only strides they had taken towards pink-ball cricket were by hosting the Duleep Trophy game with a pink-ball last year in Greater Noida.

No feedback sought on pink-ball from players

Since then, though, the BCCI hasn’t done much in this regard maybe due to the ongoing legal tangle post the Lodha panel’s recommendations. Former BCCI president Anurag Thakur and former secretary Ajay Shirke showed a keen interest in promoting pink-ball cricket but they had to leave their respective posts failing to implement with the Lodha recommendations. This has led pink-ball cricket to take a back seat. Post the Duleep Trophy game; nobody from the Board has spoken to the players or captains about their experience during the five-day game.

Maybe the pink-ball is not cut out for India, as said by a top BCCI official. “With India having different playing conditions, there is also a huge question mark over the future of pink ball. It may not work well here in this part of the world,” a top board functionary told TOI on Sunday.

It is been said that the future of pink-ball cricket is now in the hands of Sourav Ganguly. Being a part of the technical committee, he can push the case for pink-ball cricket if he feels the need. The former India skipper is also the head of Bengal cricket and has already conducted a pink-ball event at a local level in Kolkata.

The BCCI hasn’t even had a word with top cricket gear manufacturers, who were asked to produce mass scale productions of the pink-ball last season but hasn’t received any communication from the Board for the forthcoming season.

Cut down on pink ball production

Last year, we were told to make pink ball and supply them to the National Cricket Academy. But this year, nothing has been told to us. We are not able to understand whether the pink ball will continue or not this year,” a top manufacturer of cricket gear in India told TOI.

Current India head coach, Ravi Shastri, last year suggested of shifting the timing of the pink-ball games from noon to 8 PM. This plea could be taken into account to make Day-night Test cricket feasible in the country.