With Eden Gardens set to host the country’s first day-night match with a pink ball in club cricket, an expert panel comprising Sourav Ganguly, VVS laxman and Dean Jones on Thursday strongly felt that the innovation is here to stay.
In its bid to host India’s first day-night Test, proposed against New Zealand in October, the iconic Eden Gardens will experiment by organising the final of the four-day Super league under lights with pink Kookaburra ball.
The June 18-21 match will be telecast live by BCCI’s official broadcaster Star Sports.
Former Aussie batsman Jones said the era of pink ball will make cricket an even contest.
“Now what we see is a bully type of a game and batsmen are having it too easy over the last decade,” Jones said during a panel discussion on ‘India’s first pink ball multiday match’ here. “But with pink ball it would be an even contest, and I’m liking the thing here. I would like to see the ball swinging a little bit more. I would like to see the defensive skills of the batsmen. I think it will be a better game to watch. Pink ball is here to stay.”
“It’s pink right through. Pink ball is not here to save Test cricket but to serve as a catalyst to bring people back. It’s like changing the work hours of a stall. People cannot sit in 45 degree sun for cricket. The pink is the new red,” he said.
Ganguly, incidentally, had the experience of playing with pink ball when he represented MCC a few years back in the UAE and said he did not have any problem sighting the ball.
Ganguly said, “Brightness was a lot better. This is here to bring people back to the ground. It’s all about marketing. Pink ball is the way forward. You have to find a way to bring people back to the ground. Everything needs a bit of innovation. like nobody thought T20/IPl to be so popular till it came to being.”
laxman said pink ball should be given to India’s premier spinner like Ravichandran Ashwin to asses how it turns.
Bhowanipore Club will face Mohun Bagan in the first pink ball four-day match under lights in the CAB Super league final.
Meanwhile,Ganguly remains optimistic about Eden Gardens hosting the country’s first-ever day-night Test, against New Zealand, and is awaiting directives from BCCI.
There were reports which had claimed that New Zealand Cricket does not want to play day-night Test in India during their three-match series, tentatively scheduled for October.
“I have not heard this. They have played against Australia (in the first and only day-night Test) at the Adelaide Oval in November last year,” Ganguly said. “I would like to see what directives come from the BCCI. It’s happening all around the world. It’s a matter of time before it happens in India.”
Ganguly is the first in the country to take the initiative as the CAB has planned the Super league final (June 18-21) under lights using a pink kookaburra ball.