Kohli wants Duke balls to be used for all Tests
India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday said that Test cricket across the globe should be played with the England-made Duke balls, expressing his displeasure at the poor quality of the SG balls that India use at home.
“The Dukes ball, I think, is the most suited ball for Test cricket. If there’s a situation I would vouch for that to be used all over the world because of the consistency of the ball and how the bowlers are in the game at any stage, even the spinners, because the seam is so hard and upright,” Kohli said.
Currently, there are no ICC specific guidelines and different countries use different balls. While India use their home-made ‘SG Test’ from early ‘90s (Sonnex was the ball before that), England and West Indies use the UK’s Dukes with the most pronounced seam. Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka use the Kookaburra.
Before Kohli, senior offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin has also spoken about how he felt better bowling with the Kookaburra than ‘SG Test’. Asked about Ashwin’s complaints about the quality, Kohli supported his lead spinner. “I totally agree with him. To have a ball scuffed up in five overs is something that we haven’t seen before.
“The quality of the ball used to be quite high before and I don’t understand the reason why it has gone down.
“A Dukes ball is still good quality, Kookaburra is still good quality. Whatever limitations a Kookaburra might have (seam goes flat), the quality is never compromised,” Kohli explained.
“The seamers as well are benefitted if the ball is hard, you can get that extra pace but if the ball goes so soft in 10-12 overs, then your effort comes down by 20 per cent. I think the quality of the ball has to be maintained, there’s no doubt about that.
“Otherwise, you have too many dead sessions in a Test match, which you don’t want to see. I totally agree with Ash,” Kohli said.
Earlier, Ashwin, after the first Test, stated that SG balls are of sub-standard quality.
“The seamers as well are benefitted if the ball is hard, you can get that extra pace but if the ball goes so soft in 10-12 overs, then your effort comes down by 20 per cent”