Will play D/N Test in Australia only if there is a practice game: Kohli
KOLKATA: India captain Virat Kohli is open to the idea of daynight Test in Australia next year provided his team is allocated a practice match, something which wasn’t on the table during the 201718 tour Down Under.
Asked if he would be ready to play a day-night Test in Australia during next year’s big tour, Kohli gave a positive reply with a rider. “Whenever it is held, there should be a practice game before,” Kohli said on the eve of the game.
Kohli then said that the Indian team refused to play day-night Test in Adelaide during the 2017-18 tour simply because it was slotted without keeping a tourmatch. “Obviously, we wanted to get a feel of pink ball cricket. Eventually, it had to happen. But you can’t just bring those things up before a big tour and suddenly in the schedule, there is a pink ball Test, when we have not even practised with pink ball. We have not played any first class game with the pink ball,” the skipper said.
“It can’t be that sudden,” Kohli said referring to that particular tour. When asked about his change of mind, Kohli said that they agreed because discussions were happening for a while it wasn’t as if they were told just days prior to a series. “You can’t just go in two days before and say you’re playing a pink ball Test in a week’s time. We didn’t really think it was logical from tha t point of view. It needed a bit of preparation. Once you get used to playing it there’s no problem playing at all. You can plan in advance. We just thought it was a spontaneous,” he said about the last time.
Kohli is happy that India is first playing a day-night Test at home. “This one we have been talking about for a while,” he said. “Look, the thing was to experience a ‘pink ball Test’ in our own conditions as to how the ball behaves. Will there be (more) sideways (lateral) movement? Then eventually going on and playing an important Test series anywhere in the world,” the Indian captain said.
But there would certainly be some challenges which includes the most commonly discussed dew factor and also the visibility during the twilight hours.
“One big factor is the dew in the late last session most probably. We will have to play as it comes and manage it in the best way possible. That is one difference with a D/N Test in India compared to any other country. Apart from that, I don’t feel any major difference,” Kohli said on the eve of the pink-ball Test.
“The decision making has to very precise. Even with catching gets very quickly. The extra edge it travels faster. It’s going to be a challenge that should excite everyone. We are excited for the new challenge. If you have not played with the pink ball it’s going to be challenging throughout the game. Solid technique and more compact game required compared to the red ball. And it makes it even more difficult with not having a great visibility or able to pick that colour,” Kohli added.
One big factor is the dew in the late last session most probably
—Virat Kohli, on pink ball Test