Kolkata: Indian skipper Virat Kohli fancies practice games ahead of Day/Night Test matches abroad, suggesting that could be a condition if India plays a D/N Test in Australia next year.
Kohli-led India refused to play a Day-Night Test in Adelaide against Australia in 2018. But since Sourav Ganguly became the president of the BCCI and pushed the issue, he said it took him three seconds to agree to it.
A pink ball Test is finally taking place at Eden Gardens beginning Friday against Bangladesh, and Kohli was asked on the eve whether they would be interested in playing under lights Down Under as well.
"If it's the first Test, then obviously before the first Test whatever the practice game you play. One can be a normal red ball practice game and one before the Test a pink ball game but if it's the second or the third Test, I would ideally want a bigger break between the Tests and have a practice game (with the pink ball) before the pink ball Test under lights," Kohli said.
Virat also said that pink ball matches should not become the only way to play Test cricket.
"In my opinion, the day-night Test should not become the only way in which the longest format of the game is played. Because then you are losing out on the nervousness which is created in the first session of the match. You can bring excitement to Test cricket, but you cannot make the longest format of the game adhere just to the excitement," Kohli told reporters.
"If I do not like Test cricket, you cannot force me to watch it. People who like to watch the grind throughout the match, in my opinion, they should come to watch it. Yes, it is great to create more buzz for Tests, but if you have a Test calendar in which series are fixed, then you need to bring in sync into the game. This can be a one-off thing but it should not become a regular scenario," he added.
