NEW DELHI, Oct 30 - Former BCCI chief curator Daljit Singh on Wednesday proposed more grass on the 22 yard-strip and lesser than usual on the outfield to counter the �unavoidable� dew factor for the first ever Day-Night Test to be played in India next month.
The BCCI and its Bangladesh counterpart on Tuesday agreed to playing a historic Test at the Eden Gardens from November 22, leaving little time for preparation.
What goes in favour of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is that it has some experience of hosting a multi-day game with pink ball.
�One of the main worries will be the dew. There is no doubt about that. They will have to understand that it will be a handicap which you can�t eliminate,� Daljit, who retired as BCCI chief curator last month after 22 years of service to Indian cricket, told PTI.
�To counter that, you have to have thin grass cover on the outfield and taller than usual grass on pitch. The heavier the outfield, the more, it will attract dew. They need to start doing that from today itself,� said the 77-year-old former first-class player, who remains involved with pitch preparation for the Punjab Cricket Association.
The game is expected to start at around 1.30 pm local time with play lasting till 8.30 pm. To ensure that pink-ball lasts long, Daljit feels more grass is needed on the pitch. He and his team did something similar in the Duleep Trophy experiment of 2016, when games were played under lights with pink ball in Greater Noida. �The pink ball gets dirty very quickly so they have to keep more grass on the pitch,� said Daljit. � PTI
