Key points:
- India has never played a day-night cricket Test away from home soil — it’s first pink-ball outing came against Bangladesh last November
- The first day-night Test in Australia was against New Zealand at Adelaide Oval in November 2015
- Since then there has been at least one pink-ball Test for Australia each summer
Indian captain Virat Kohli has declared his team is ready for the challenge of a day-night Test in Australia next summer.
India flogged Bangladesh in the team’s first pink-ball Test late last year, but has previously refused to play the games under lights.
The issue became a sticking point on the team’s last tour of Australia, where no match was played at the Aussies’ fortress of the Gabba.
Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts is in India this week meeting with new BCCI boss Sourav Ganguly, with a day-night Test expected to be on the agenda.
But Kohli welcomed the prospect of finally facing the Aussies in one, despite them being undefeated in seven pink-ball Tests.
“We played the day-night Test here, we were very happy with how it went,” he said.
“It’s become a very exciting feature of any series, so we are absolutely open to play a day-night Test.
“We are ready and up for the challenge.”
Kohli also said his team would be happy to play in Brisbane, after Tim Paine joked earlier in the summer he would have to ask the Indian captain where he wanted matches.
The Australian players are firm in their stance they want the series-opener at the Gabba, while there is a push from Western Australia to make sure one of the matches is played in Perth.
Whoever misses out will likely instead host Afghanistan in a one-off Test.
“Whether it is the Gabba or Perth, it doesn’t matter to us,” Kohli said.
“We have the skillsets as a team to compete against anyone in the world anywhere, whether it is white ball, pink ball or red ball.
“We are absolutely up for it.”
News Credit: abc.net.au
