Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah reveals secrets to preparing for Pink Ball Test

Team India will play just their fourth Pink Ball or Day-Night Test, this time against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru starting on Saturday (March 12). Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah spoke to the media ahead of the India vs SL Pink Ball Test and revealed the mental preparations that cricketers go through while preparing for it.

Bumrah along with rest of the Indian team had an extended training session in Bengaluru on Thursday (March 10) evening to assess the conditions. “We have to make mental adjustments while preparing for the Pink Ball Test. Playing under light, fielding and bowling with Pink Ball are things we need to get used to and we keep all of these things in mind while in training session,” Bumrah said while addressing a virtual media conference from Bengaluru on Friday (March 11).

“We are not used to catching or bowling with the Pink Ball. It is still a fairly new concept for all of us and we are trying to learn with every Test,” he added.

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Jasprit Bumrah has an incredible record while bowling in the longest format of the game. In 28 Tests till date, Bumrah has picked up 115 wickets at an average of just 22.83. When it comes to Pink Ball Tests, India have played two D/N games at home – winning both inside three days in Kolkata and Ahmedabad against Bangladesh and England respectively.

“We had a look at the surface yesterday but today we’ll take a closer look at the pitch. After that we’ll have a better idea if we want to go into the match with 3 seamers or 3 spinners,” the Indian vice-captain said.

When asked about specific preparations needed for Pink Ball Test, Bumrah said, “It all depends on the individual. Pink Ball looks different, the speed at which it comes to you on the field and the amount it moves or spins is also different. Also timings for the D/N Test are also different, so ball might not do so much in the first session but might start to do more under the light. We have played the Pink Ball Tests on all different surfaces, so there are no set parameters for it.”

Bumrah’s workload was much lighter in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Mohali, which Team India won by an innings inside three days. In fact, the Indian vice-captain bowled just four overs in the second innings.

“There was no conscious effort to manage workload once you are playing in a Test match. I was planning to bowl to (Mohammed) Shami on the second day but the light wasn’t quite right. Then with the spinners doing a good job on third day, I wasn’t quite required to bowl,” Bumrah said.