"If there's an opportunity to get a result…": Gambhir backs red-ball-pink-ball switch

New Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], June 5 (ANI): Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir extended his support to the International Cricket Council (ICC) idea of switching from a red ball to a pink ball before the start of the Afghanistan Test that is likely to be affected by bad light.

Gambhir argued that teams should not lose crucial opportunities because of external factors like bad light.

He also believes it would be unfair if poor light prevented the match from continuing and denied them a chance to secure qualification.

Gambhir was speaking to the reporters on the eve of India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh.

“I love that because I’ve always believed that if there’s an opportunity to get a result, you should always have that opportunity. Imagine if you are playing the last Test match before the World Test Championship final and you have the chance to win that Test match to qualify, but because of bad light, it’s not happening. So I’m all for it,” Gambhir said on Friday.

“If there’s an opportunity to get the result, if both teams agree to it… I know it could be a little unfair and difficult for the players, but imagine working hard for two years and the last Test match before the World Test Championship final, if you don’t play five days because of bad light, how unfair that could be. So I think it’s a proactive move, it’s a positive move, and, hopefully, the teams will start taking it in a positive way,” he added.

In their most recent Test series, a home contest against South Africa, India suffered a 2-0 whitewash. They currently sit sixth in the World Test Championship standings, having earned 48.15% of the available points from nine matches. (ANI)

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