Nature will play a role in D&N Tests
Nayan Mongia says one of the main reasons he prefers traditional timings over Day-Night is because all three different sessions of a day will be completely different from each other
Nayan Mongia is no fan of Day and Night Tests. However, the former India wicketkeeper says it will be interesting to note how the conditions behave in the new format.
“In day matches, dew is not a factor, you have morning session, afternoon, and evening. But the new format will be a different ball game altogether as more natural elements come into play. Amount of dew depends on the weather. Some evenings will be windy, and the ball movement will differ every day. Will we get swing in the afternoon with the new ball? This is another question which pops up. But one of the reasons I prefer being a traditionalist is because the conditions will not be just different. It will be completely opposite to the afternoon after the sun sets.”
Being a wicketkeeper himself who featured for India in 44 Tests and 140 ODIs, Mongia also feels that in order to become more resourceful in ever-demanding form of franchise cricket, young wicketkeepers are in a race to become better batsmen rather than focusing on their duty behind the stumps.
“The competition is heating up. You can see the current crop of young players in the Indian Premier
League. They simply cannot survive in the shortest format without at least getting two ticks out of three i.e. batting, bowling or fielding (keeping),” Mongia remarked on the sidelines of a Rotary Club event where support to the Road Safety World Series was announced at the Otters Club.
Calling the turn of events unfortunate, the Arjuna Awardee added that there is no room for error in longer formats: “Though T20 demands a skillset of an allrounder, you never know how much a dropped catch will cost at the end. In T20s you can still compromise but in ODIs and Test matches, there is no scope for a compromise. Longer the format, better should be the quality of your wicketkeeper,” he said.