Gold Coast: India skipper Mithali Raj called for the return of red-ball cricket Wednesday in women’s domestic circuit if one-off Tests become a regular feature in their international assignments. Mithali, whose side has just got two practice sessions ahead of the historic day-night Test against Australia starting Thursday, wanted more preparation time but the Covid-19 hit scheduling did not allow that. India played their first Test in seven years in June 2021 against England and the Australia game is their first with pink-ball.
“Clearly, if the girls need to do well in this format they have to have some sort of match experience in the domestic circuit. So, if this (Test) is going to be regular (feature) then probably we will have another addition to our domestic calendar of playing days format,” Mithali said here Wednesday on the eve of the day-night game.
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The two-day red ball matches in Indian domestic cricket were discontinued after the 2018-19 season.
Mithali said all young players, who play leagues around the world, also want to play Tests. It is a healthy sign for women’s cricket. She called the two Tests this year for India a significant development in the game.
“If this becomes a regular feature in a bilateral series, playing three formats will definitely help all the players because that’s the feedback I get most of the time that every player, even the today’s player who is part of various leagues, they love to play the longer format,” Mithali informed.
BCCI has, in principle, agreed to slot in a Test whenever the Indian team play England and Australia.
“I feel whether you play with the red colour or pink ball, if the Test format is part of the itinerary, it really helps,” asserted Mithali. She added that it would be nice to play a Test at home also.
Mithali was asked why no pink ball practice was arranged in the pre-tour camp in Bangalore. The women’s team captain said the focus then was on the white-ball series.
“We were preparing for the one-day series back home in Bangalore so it was more to do with the white ball of course. We tried and played few games under the lights to get used to the day and night Test and one off day-night ODI,” Mithali informed.
“Yeah, if we could have got a little more time between the last ODI and the Test, it would be quite helpful but again I understand it was shortened because of the Covid protocols. However, playing Test at home also will be quite significant,” added Mithali.
Mithali also said she does not have idea about the challenges associated with pink ball game. “I’m playing for the first time with pink ball so I can’t really say what the challenges would be. Whatever little I have faced in the nets, it (pink ball) does seam quite a bit. However, in the Test, I think that the challenges would be different, given that it is a competitive game,” she asserted.