A day after captain Virat Kohli reiterated his preference for restricting Test cricket in India to five centres, R. Ashwin echoed his captain’s sentiment.
“Every other nation has a certain pattern of playing Test cricket. They do know how the venue behaves, how the pitch behaves, how the games pan out. That’s perennially how Test cricket works in most parts of the world,” Ashwin said.
“Even in India, it was no exception. But, of late, with a lot of cricketers coming from different parts of the country, the sport has grown and gone to every nook and corner which is a great sign. Hence we are playing Tests in various venues.
“The understanding of a particular venue and keeping it that way will help the players. Whether or not that’s the right thing to do is something that the decision-makers will have take.”
About the day-night Test, Ashwin admitted that the Indian players, due to lack of game-time with the pink ball, were “wary and excited” about their maiden Test under lights.
“The pink ball Test is a welcome sign. As a Test-playing country, it was necessary for us to play a day-night Test. The office-going crowd which couldn’t catch the action can now do so,” said Ashwin.
A challenge
“Obviously, it’s a challenge to play with the pink ball. Hopefully, the Test match will be a historic moment and be the start of many more to come.”
“I haven’t even bowled a single ball with the pink ball. Obviously I just saw it. Sometimes I don’t understand if its orange or pink, still coming to terms with that.”
