Problems anticipated and possible solutions with pink ball cricket in India

Difficulties for batsmen

Debabrata Das, Subhomoy Das and Wriddhiman Saha of Mohun Bagan

On proof of what has been at the Eden Gardens so far and what has been said by players who have had to face a new pink ball spell, one thing is very evident – this ball swings around like nobody’s business, especially in the first few overs. What is more, the seam of the pink ball has been said to be hard to spot as well, not giving batsmen a chance to know which way the ball will swing as well.

From David Warner to AB de Villiers, all batsmen around the world have been united in being sceptical of the pink ball.

In the Australia-New Zealand Test series in which the pink ball had its first international outing, 1432 runs were scored at Brisbane, 1672 runs were scored at Perth, but the Adelaide Test saw only 832 runs, and that too with all 4 innings getting over within three days. In the Quad-e-Azam Cup final, which featured Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali and Umar Akmal, there were no centuries.

In the small passage of play possible at the CAB Super League final before rain came down to interrupt play, Mohun Bagan had already lost their first wicket, heading into safety with the score at 9/1. Some practice is definitely required before Indian batsmen are comfortable with this novelty.