Pink ball Test still long way off, says Kumble

New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) Indian team’s head coach Anil Kumble today made it clear that ‘Pink Ball Test’ is “still a long way” even though he conceded that Day/Night Tests is the future if one wants to sustain the interest of cricket lovers in the longer format.

Chief coach Kumble said that his immediate focus is on how the boys fair against ‘Red Dukes’ in the West Indies when asked how Indian spinners would do with pink kookaburra on sub-continental pitches.

“We haven’t really thought about pink ball yet as far as I know. It’s still a long way. We will be playing with Dukes red ball in the West Indies. I would like to take one match at a time. The West Indies series is important for us. We have practised (at NCA Bengaluru) for last six days with red Dukes.

Once we start looking at pink ball, we will start looking at it,” Kumble responded to a query from PTI during a Q/A session on social networking site twitter.

However, India’s highest wicket-taker, who is also chairman of the prestigious ICC Cricket Committee, did admit that Day/Night test match is the way forward.

“I would certainly back Day/Night (Test) cricket.

Anything we need to do to get crowd back to Test cricket…

At least that is the future. In Day/Night matches, people can come into the stadium after office hours,” Kumble replied to another query.

Kumble termed Virat Kohli as a “fantastic batsman and leader” and he is excited to work with him.

“I am really excited to work with Virat. I have seen him as U-19 at the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He has matured a lot in last couple of years. He is a fantastic batsman and leader. He is really aggressive and so was I. I am really looking forward towards working with him.”

With his immediate focus on West Indies series, the owner of 619 Test wickets said that he expects Ravindra Jadeja to do well as the wickets in the Caribbean will suit his style of bowling. He did not forget to mention that he expects good things from all-rounder Jadeja.

“Jadeja is a wonderful all-rounder. I had a chat with him about his bowling. I think with his bowling, he can do a great job and be effective in West Indies conditions, which is pretty similar to Indian conditions. I have also spoken to him about his batting ability as he can score a lot of runs. I am looking forward to Jadeja doing a great job not only as a bowler but also as batsman,” said the former India captain.