NEW DELHI: Bangladesh coach
Russell Domingo
has criticized the scheduling of India's maiden pink-ball day-night Test, saying it would have been ideal if the experiment had been preceded by a two-day warm-up game with the new ball.
"It would have been great to have played a two-game game with the pink ball (before the Test)," Domingo said here on Friday. "When I was with South Africa (as coach), we played a two-day game before playing the day-night Test in Adelaide (in Nov 2016). There are a lot of challengers with the pink ball."
India's maiden Test day-nighter, the second of the series, will be staged at the
Eden Gardens
from November 22, just three days after the conclusion of the first Test. "There is a concern with three days between two Test matches here," Domingo said. "We have just two practice days. So there's not a lot of time to prepare with it. I suppose it's the same for India. But it is a challenge we are facing."
India have ordered SG pink balls for the event but the general feedback from players on the domestic scene about such balls has been negative, with some saying the balls lacked seam, making grip and reverse swing with the old ball a problem. Outlining some of the concerns, Domingo said, "It's a difficult ball to see when you are batting, particularly in the phase between sunset and dark. The batsmen (tend to) struggle against wrist spinners (too) because it is difficult to see the seam, since it is not pronounced. The ball flakes a lot easier, it gets softer and breaks up a little more."
New BCCI president
Sourav Ganguly has backed the day-night initiative in the hope of getting crowds back to
Test cricket
arenas.
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