India to play their first day-night Test against New Zealand this year

In exciting news that is coming in, the India cricket team will make its day-night Test debut against the Kiwis later this year.

“We have decided that we will play one day-night Test match with pink ball against New Zealand later this year. Before that Duleep Trophy will act as a dress rehearsal for the day-night Test match,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur told a select gathering of media-persons at the BCCI’s headquarters in the capital today.

The BCCI has taken the decision to host New Zealand for the maiden D/N Test keeping in mind the falling interest in Test cricket and the number of empty seats in stadiums during the matches. Thakur also said that the behaviour of the pink kookaburra in Indian conditions will be tested during the Duleep Trophy this year.

“While we have not zeroed in on the venue, there are lots of factors that need to be taken into account. Things like dew factor, how the spinners bowl with the pink kookaburra on Indian pitches. These things we will get an idea during the Duleep Trophy,” he said.

During that Duleep Trophy game, the pink kookaburra will be preferred over the SG Test balls that are generally used in India and all the leading Indian cricketers will be asked to play to give a feedback on how the ball behaves.

“We may ask SG to manufacture pink balls later but that has to be of the quality of pink balls that kookaburra produces,” said Thakur.

Pakistan are also expected to make their D/N Test debut against Australia at Brisbane in December this year. India's Test captain Virat Kohli had earlier lauded the D/N Test for bringing in a necessary innovation to the game.

Kohli had said: "If it [the D/N Test] is officially put into place it will be something different, it will be something exciting. As cricketers we all should be willing and accepting of the fact that we need to step forward and contribute to the game, however possible.

"If this is a step towards improving the excitement and the popularity of Test cricket, then I think every team should be in for it."