After India’s recent decision to skip playing a day-night Test in Australia, the debate over the novel concept has once again cropped up in world cricket. While, the format is seen as a great initiative to attract fans back into the sport, for the cricketers there are a few teething problems that still need to be addressed.
South Africa wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock, who was part of his national side that played a day-night Test in Adelaide during their tour Down Under in 2016, admitted that there were “some rough edges in the format which needed to be ironed out.”
De Kock said that the concept was helpful in engaging fans, but from a cricketer point of view was convinced that certain aspects like the ball needed to be addressed.
“There is a problem with the ball at certain times of the day, particularly in the twilight period,” said De Kock while interacting with reporters in Mumbai on Thursday.
I think it’s a good concept but there are one or two things that can make the game better, especially for the players. For the fans it’s awesome.”
“Teams should continue playing Day Night Tests and the rough edges should be ironed out over time. The onus of bringing back crowds to Test matches lies with both players and administrators. We need to work as a team,” added the stumper, who was in Mumbai on Friday for the India launch of Spintech training mat which assists batsmen improve their skills against spin.
‘Indian seam attack one of the best I have faced’
The explosive batsman, who is currently playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ongoing Indian Premier League, is looking forward to seeing how the Indian side, which will be led by his RCB skipper Virat Kohli, fares in English conditions during their tour of United Kingdom post the IPL.
“I think it’s going to be a good contest,” de Kock said. “The Indian seam attack is one of the best that I have ever faced. They are really good. The likes of Bhuvi (Bhuvanehwar Kumar), (Jasprit) Bumrah, Hardik (Pandya), (Mohammad) Shami (and) Ishant (Sharma), all these guys were very consistent and opposing teams are going to struggle against them. They have one of the hardest bowling attacks that one can face, especially as openers,” he added.
India will embark on England tour in July to play a three-match Twenty20 series, three-match ODI series and five-match Test series.
De Kock also praised the Indian batsmen, who toured South Africa, saying they played bounce very well. South Africa won the Test series 2-1 while India outclassed them in the ODI series 5-1 earlier this year. The Kohli-led outfit also defeated South Africa in the three match T20 series 2-1.
“They (the Indian team) came to South Africa and played the bounce really well. That’s something that’s going to keep happening now and in the future. They are not going to be scared anymore. Even on pitches that assisted pace and bounce they did well. They were just too good.
“You have got guys like (Ajinkya) Rahane, Shikhar (Dhawan), (MS) Dhoni and Virat (Kohli) leading by example, guys who are not scared of taking on the opposition, De Kock said when asked what was the difference between the Indian team that toured South Africa early this year and the past teams.”
De Kock also heaped praise on his teammate and India skipper Kohli.
“Virat is very competitive by nature and what stands out is that he wants to be the best and always wants to win. He has that attitude, the guy always wants to win. He (Virat) is not an emotional guy actually. When you play against him, he seems very emotional but now that you have played with him, Virat being Virat (is) just passionate about what he does,” De Kock noted.
With inputs from PTI.