ICC’s Pink Ball Trial For Day Test Matches Gets Thumbs Up From India Coach Gambhir

Mullanpur: India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday welcomed the ICC’s decision to allow the use of pink balls during daytime Tests, terming it as an opportunity for teams to get results in matches affected by inclement weather conditions.

Following a board meeting, the ICC allowed the trial of pink balls in regular Test matches, with prior agreement by both teams, “to maximize play in case of anticipated bad light”.

It is understood that such a match will start with the red ball, but if the light is bad, the floodlights will be turned on and the pink ball will be used to compensate for the overs that may be lost.

“I love it. The reason is that I have always believed that if there is an opportunity to get a result, you should always have that opportunity,” Gambhir said on the eve of the one-off Test against Afghanistan.

The rule will be valid from October 1. There is an underlying reason for Gambhir’s firm support for this.

India will play the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home in February-March. The third Test was held in Guwahati and the last test was held in Ranchi in the eastern part of India, where the sun set at 16:00, leading to heavy losses.

“Imagine playing the last Test match before the World Test Championship final and you have a chance to win that Test match and get into the rankings. Due to bad light, it is not happening. If there is an opportunity to get the result and both the teams accept it, I am fully ready for it,” Gambhir said.

Gambhir admitted that switching to red ball in the same match could be a big adjustment issue for the players, but flexibility could be expected if the WTC is the final destination.

“I know it might be a bit uncertain or difficult for players playing the Test match, but imagine you have trained hard for two years and this is the last Test match before the World Test Championship final,” he said.

“If things get worse, if you don’t play for five days due to bad luck, how uncertain can that be? So I think it’s a proactive move. It’s a positive move and I hope teams start taking it positively,” Gambhir added.