The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday officially informed Cricket Australia that Virat Kohli’s side will not play a day-night Test match during their tour Down Under at the end of this year.
While Cricket Australia were insistent on having a pink-ball Test, which has been a convention for all touring teams for the past few years, the Indian board made it clear that they will not deviate from the traditional red-ball matches.
The Indian team management, headed by chief coach Ravi Shastri, told the Supreme-Court ordered Committee of Administrators that the team will take at least 18 months to prepare for the day-night Test. Acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary was told to pass on the message to CA chief executive James Sutherland.
CA wanted the opening Test at Adelaide from December 6-10 to be a pink-ball match. “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.
Last week, Sutherland had told a radio station in Australia that India’s reluctance to play the pink-ball Test was down to them trying to win the series. Australia, meanwhile, have a 100% record in day-night Tests, winning each of their four matches.
Among Indian players, only Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay have played day/night matches in the Duleep Trophy.
With inputs from PTI