India is finally set to play its first day-night Test from Friday, four years after Australia set the ball rolling against New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval. Virat Kohli & Co will take on Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, becoming the last top Test-playing nation to try the pink ball in the longest format of the game.

Despite the delayed introduction, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes that the future is bright for pink-ball games.

“When day-night cricket started not many thought it would be successful but look at the huge following it has now, so there’s no reason to believe that day-night Test cricket won’t be successful too,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by AFP.

“The only thing I feel is that the stats for pink-ball Test cricket should be separately maintained from red-ball cricket.

“Similarly for limited-overs cricket also the stats should be separate for red-ball and white-ball, or some sort of distinction made so that future generations can know what was what.”

Also read: The key differences between pink and red ball, explained by SG

There is still a little hesitance over how the pink SG ball will play out in Kolkata, with the dew and early sunset factors to be considered.

India have experimented with pink balls in domestic cricket, including a club game in Kolkata. But not many players in the current squad are used to the new balls, which were tested during hurriedly organised net sessions during the first Test.

But Gavaskar said Kohli’s team – which leads the world Test championship table and is aiming to secure a 12th straight series win at home – can conquer any facet of the game.

“This is a magnificent Indian team which can find a way to win even if they are playing on the snow in Iceland or sand in the Sahara desert,” said Gavaskar.

“So it does not matter whether any of the players have played earlier with the pink ball or not.”

Before the match, skipper Kohli said he welcomed the “buzz” around India’s grand day-night Test debut but said that pink-ball matches should not become a regular occurrence.

Photos: A massive pink balloon, mascots and murals – Eden Gardens gets ready for day-night Test

“This can be a one-off thing. It should not, in my opinion, become a regular scenario, because then you are losing out on that nervousness of the first session in the morning,” Kohli said at Eden Gardens.

“The entertainment of Test cricket lies in the fact that the batsman is trying to survive a session and the bowler trying to set a batsman out. It’s great to create more buzz around Test cricket.”

Day-night Tests, aimed at increasing crowds and TV audiences for the longer format, were successfully introduced in 2015 when Australia played New Zealand. England, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies have all played at least one day-night Test.

With AFP Inputs