When the BCCI announced the three teams for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, it also made another important revelation. That the tournament was reverting to the day format, with only the final being a day-and-night affair. It was primarily put down to the lack of live television coverage.
The tournament, which will feature India's top domestic stars, will be played from August 17 to September 9 at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium. Shubman Gill, India A regular Priyank Panchal and Vidarbha Ranji champion skipper Faiz Fazal will lead Blue, Red and Green teams respectively.
For the past three seasons, the Duleep Trophy was being played with pink ball. It will be back to the red SG balls from this season. BCCI's GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim was non-committal when asked whether it signals the end of the pink-ball experiment in domestic cricket. "I don't want to comment on it. The Duleep Trophy schedule had to be announced as venues were an issue."
India's experiment with pink ball never really took off. Players were not so enthused about it, saying more work needs to be done on it by Kookaburra to make it more adaptable to Indian conditions. They found that the ball loses its shine quickly and stops aiding both pacers and spinners alike after first 50-60 overs. Thereafter, it becomes a batsman's game with no reverse swing or drift for the bowlers.
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Chandrakant Pandit, one of India's most successful domestic coaches, welcomed BCCI's decision to revert to the red ball for the tournament. “It's the correct decision. We have been playing our domestic cricket with the red ball and the idea of using pink ball came when it started getting used in international cricket. The board wanted domestic and fringe players to get used to playing with pink ball. I don't think the pink ball presently works in Indian conditions. Playing with the red ball is a totally different ball game." Pandit further said that once the ICC approves day-and-night Test matches with the pink ball, the board should go back to it. “I would always love to play cricket with the red ball," he told THE WEEK.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer, too, agreed with the BCCI's decision. "I think the reason for them to go with pink balls was probably because day-and-night Test matches were coming in and we wanted to get our players used to playing with it. But the pink ball has got a mixed response from players. They were not happy with the quality of the balls. It's a good decision, going forward,” said Jaffer to THE WEEK.
He was, however, more concerned about the Duleep Trophy being played in the current format of India Blue, India Green and India Red. He wants the tournament to revert to its original zonal avatar. "I would rather have players playing for their zones once again. I have played for West Zone when I played for Mumbai. It brings more purpose to the tournament and for players. In the current format, everybody is playing only for their own performances. It's not the same as playing for your zone," Jaffer said.
India had refused to play day-and-night Test matches in the past against Australia. They had cited lack of exposure to the pink ball for the decision.
