Laxman, Kapil give approval to day-night experiment

While V. V. S. Laxman believed the first day-night Test will usher a new era of Test cricket, Kapil Dev opined this may bring in a 'revolution' in the format.

'Historically it has been proven time and again that a little modification in the way the game has been played traditionally has been successful': V. V. S. Laxman

V. V. S. Laxman, the former Indian batting heavyweight, and Kapil Dev, India’s first World-Cup winning captain, have expressed their intrigue and enthusiasm for the new experiment of playing a day-night Test match. After years of testing the pink ball, Cricket Australia have deemed fit to host the world’s first day-night Test, between Australia and New Zealand, beginning at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.

Laxman felt the landmark event will spark a new ‘era’ for Test cricket. “This is an exciting time for the cricketing fans as they can directly head to the stadiums or tune in on their television sets to catch the action live. Historically it has been proven time and again that a little modification in the way the game has been played traditionally has been successful. This is a revolution in the Test cricket format and I believe this is just the beginning of a new era for Test cricket.”

The pink ball being used to play the day-night Test with has invoked speculation and criticism owing to its different ‘behaviour’, but Kapil spoke about ‘positives’ from the trial. “I am very happy to see the plans to play a day-night Test coming into action. I would personally like to welcome this move as I see a lot of positives from it. If this format clicks, we are in for another revolution in the Test cricket history.”

Earlier, the India captain Virat Kohli, ahead of the ongoing Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur, also >spoke in favour of the innovation.