The BCCI has officially informed Cricket Australia that India will not play any Day/Night Test match on their tour to Australia. Cricket Australia have organized one pink ball test match against all the touring teams for the past few years and they were forceful on having a pink ball Test against India. BCCI on the other hand, has made it clear that they will not differ from the traditonal red-ball matches.
CA wanted the opening Test at Adelaide from December 6-10 to be a pink ball Test match.
Chief coach Ravi Shastri, headed Indian team management, indicating the Committee of Administrators (CoA) that the team will take at least 18 months to prepare for the Day/Night Test. BCCI’s acting secretary Choudhary was told to pass on the message to CA chief executive James Sutherland.
“I am directed to say by the Committee of Administrators that India would begin to play in the format only in about a year’s time. Under the circumstances, I regret to say that the proposed D/N test cannot be played and all tests will have to have the conventional structure,” Choudhary wrote in his e-mail to Sutherland.
Sutherland had told a radio station in Australia that India’s unwillingness to play the pink ball Test was primarily because of their craving to win the test series. Australia has not lost a single Test match under lights played at home.
Among Indian players, only Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay have played Day/Night pink ball matches in Duleep Trophy which was jointly held in Lucknow’s Ekana International stadium and Kanpur’s Green Park stadium in September last year.
