Md Shami seen rolling his arm with the pink ball at Eden Gardens. Image Source: Xtra Time[/caption]Kolkata: Md Shami will be the star attraction for the first pink ball match to be played at Eden Gardens from Saturday. The Indian pacer will take the field for Mohun Bagan in the Super League final against Bhawanipur. Shami, who had his first feel of the pink kookaburra ball on Thursday, is circumspect about the success of pink ball matches in India.
The Indian pacer does not see much of a difference with the pink ball and a normal kookaburra ball. According to the pacer, “I do not see much of a difference, except for the colour. The seam is almost the same. But until and unless I get to bowl with full run up, I cannot say more.”
Shami has joined his club Mohun Bagan after spending time with his family at Moradabad. The pacer was also a part of the victorious JC Mukherjee trophy which Bagan won. On being asked whether the ball might swing a bit more during the Day Night test matches, Shami said, “The pink ball might swing a bit more when the sun comes down. Dew may also play a part during later part of the evening.”
Former India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal President Sourav Ganguly needs to be credited for initiating the first ever pink ball match at Eden Gardens. Shami voiced the same opinion as Sourav when he said, “We have to take challenges if we want to taste success. We need to adjust bowling with the pink balls. But I think the pink ball will swing more in the evening at Eden Gardens because of the breeze than comes in from the Ganges. But a lot will depend on the wicket we play matches on.”
Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones feels the pink ball will negate the advantage enjoyed by the batsmen in test matches. According to Shami, “I think the day night test will negate the advantage enjoyed in day test matches. It will be a lot more even contest under the lights with the pink ball.”
The BCCI also announced earlier this month that the domestic Duleep Trophy tournament in September will be played under lights with a pink ball for the first time. All the top cricketers of the country will be seen in action playing in the Duleep Trophy. For Shami, “It will be a good practice before the Duleep Trophy matches.”
The success of the experiment is expected to have a bearing on efforts by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to host a day-night pink ball Test against New Zealand in October.
Australia and New Zealand played the inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide last year, attracting huge crowds in what was a boost to the struggling five-day format.
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