"Maybe even get a pink ball Test, if he's in a good mood" - When Tim Paine invited Virat Kohli for a day-night Test on Aussie soil

It took Team India a while to get on the pink ball bandwagon, and it is arguably a version of the game that they have not completely embraced yet. While the first-ever pink-ball Test was played in 2015, it took India four years to get a taste of it.

Australia incorporated the format into their home summer, and were responsible for conducting a vast majority of the day-night Tests since its inception. They hosted the likes of New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, and Pakistan with the pink ball while India continued to ponder.

Indian cricket had a figure like Virat Kohli as captain at the time, who was willing to take the team out to test the waters for the growth of the format. The then-Australian captain Tim Paine played this factor to his strength, when he sardonically mentioned that talks needed to be staged with his Indian counterpart over a potential pink-ball Test in the next Border-Gavaskar series.

"We'll certainly try [to start at the Gabba] but we'll have to run that by Virat. I'm sure we'll get an answer from him at some stage I'm sure. That's where we like to start our summer and has been for a long, long time except for last summer. As I said we'll ask Virat, see if we can get his permission to play here. Maybe even get a pink ball Test, if he's in a good mood," Paine said during a press conference after Australia's innings win over Pakistan in Brisbane in 2019 (via ESPN Cricinfo).

The Men in Blue had turned down the prospect of playing a day-night Test in Adelaide during the 2018-19 tour. They ended up playing their first pink ball Test in late 2019, against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens.

Kohli later mentioned that his side were open to the overseas pink ball challenge, with his only demand being adequate time for preparation.

"Maybe when we play away from home we will figure out what could be even more difficult while playing with the pink ball. I think with a good practice game before that and enough time to prepare, we're open to doing anything. You can't just play it on short notice, like I mentioned last time," Kohli said after Team India's maiden pink ball contest in 2019 (via ESPN Cricinfo).

The 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar series opened with the pink ball Test at the Adelaide Oval, where Team India were infamously bowled out for 36 in the second innings.

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India and Australia to square off with the pink ball in the second Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series

Since the iconic outing at the Adelaide Oval in late 2020, India have played two more pink ball Tests, both coming on home soil. Australia, on the other hand, have played four contests, including two in the 2021-22 Ashes series on home turf.

The Men in Yellow have an opportunity to flex their pink ball prowess when they take on India in the second Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series, beginning on Friday, December 6 at the Adelaide Oval.