Whether India will play their first day-night Test against the West Indies in October is still uncertain as the captain, Virat Kohli, wants more time to prepare for it, The Times of India reported on Monday.
“Initially, even Kohli wasn’t sure about the long term impact of playing day-night Test without having a proper trial of it. Now, both Kohli and [Ravi] Shastri are in agreement that India should not rush into day-night Test just as yet,” the report quoted an anonymous BCCI source.
The report indicated that Kohli will discuss the matter with the Committee of Administrators (CoA) led by Vinod Rai before the IPL opening ceremony in Mumbai on April 7. Kohli, the sources said, had talked about it to coach Shastri.
There were reports that the BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, general manager Saba Karim, and coach Ravi Shastri were in favour of India hosting a day-night Test in October.
But Rai had reportedly questioned Choudhary for proposing a day-night Test match against West Indies without informing the CoA.
The players’ body clocks, their familiarity (or lack thereof) with the pink ball, and logistical issues are the key matters that has halted India from confirming their day-night Test debut. The dew factor could come into play as well. Among the existing Test playing nations only India and Bangladesh (apart from the two new full members in Afghanistan and Ireland) have not played a day-night Test so far.
