India Still Not Ready For Day-Night Test: Ravi Shastri To CoA

With BCCI adamant on not allowing Australia to host India in a day-night Test later this year, they have received a major boost as head coach Ravi Shastri has also made it clear that the team needs more time to prepare before playing Test cricket under lights.

The latest innovation in Test cricket is yet to be embraced fully by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The newly-proposed Test championship, which will get underway after June 2019, does not include pink-ball Test over the next four years. The recently-drafted ICC’s Future Tours Program (FTP) does not include day-night Test too until 2023. Not surprisingly, the BCCI has not shown much excitement towards the Test under lights. As a result, they have turned down Australia’s proposal of starting the Border-Gavaskar series with a day-night Test in Adelaide.

On the other hand, Cricket Australia is looking hellbent to play the day-night Test which is fast becoming an integral part of the Australian summer. With BCCI remaining firm over its stand, CA CEO James recently said that India are not willing to play with the pink ball because of their desire to win the series.

“India may or may not come around to that idea for this tour but I still believe it’s the way of the future. I think everyone in world cricket knows that,” said Sutherland.

“To be frank, I think they want to come out here and beat us. There’s a sense, or a reality, that Australia has won each of the pink-ball Test matches that have played in Australia and there may be a sense that it gives us a bit of an advantage,” he added.

Well, Shastri feels India is still not ready to play day-night Test. And so, playing it for the first time that too in such a big series makes little sense. Shastri recently met with the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and conveyed that the team needed more time to prepare for day-night Test.

His comments also made the BCCI abandon the idea of hosting West Indies in a day-night Test in October.