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Harbhajan stumped by India's pink-ball call

India's refusal to at least try day-night cricket has left ex-players scratching their heads

Champion off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has joined Australia legend Allan Border in calling for India to join the rest of the cricketing world and play day-night Test cricket.

India’s refusal to play a day-night Test in Australia next summer has drawn criticism from a number ex-players, including Australia Hall of Famers Allan Border and Mark Waugh, the latter who labelled Virat Kohli’s side as "selfish". 

Now Harbhajan has spoken out, suggesting India should at least sample pink-ball Test cricket before declining to participate.

"I don't know why they don't want to play day-night Test matches," Harbhajan told Press Trust of India. "It's an interesting format and we should try it. I am all for it.

"Tell me what's the apprehension of playing with pink ball? If you play, you can adjust. It may not be as difficult as it seems."

The basis of India’s refusal to play the Adelaide Test under lights in the 2018-19 Australian summer is to protect their players from a foreign playing condition in a place where they’re aiming to win a series for the time against an opponent who will be without star batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner. 

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Australia will still possess a potent fast bowling attack, but Harbhajan said India’s quicks might be just as lethal with a pink ball. 

"We have fast bowlers to trouble them and what makes us think our batsmen can't take up the challenge of facing Aussie pacers," the veteran of 103 Tests said.

"It's a challenge and what's the harm in taking up the challenge. When we were new to Test cricket, we had only learnt how to bowl with SG Test (ball) and then slowly learnt to bowl with Kookaburra and Dukes (balls).

"Don't you accept the challenge of playing England in overcast conditions in their country? Isn't that a challenge? 

"If we could take up that challenge why not pink ball cricket?

"Life is a learning process and there is no harm if we could adapt to a new format."

Border was perplexed as to why India won’t sample day-night Test cricket.

"I can’t quite understand it myself why they wouldn’t want to give it a go," Border told SEN Radio yesterday. 

"I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t give these innovations a go. Then if you’ve played a couple of games and you don’t like it then you’ve got some case. 

"But if you’ve never played it, how are you going to know if it’s not the future of the game."

Border was also unimpressed by how India had influenced specific schedule details in an away series - as ICC regulations enable them to do in regards to day-night Tests - while touring teams must accept other conditions as determined by the home team, such as the brand of ball used and at what venues the matches are played.

"We go to India and play on the dustbowls over there that they’re churning out for us," he said.

"You say ‘OK, we’re in their backyard, we’ve got to cop this’. 

"We play at the different venues that they put forward. I don’t know if we’ve vetoed any stadiums that they got us playing in India at any stage. 

"I’m just disappointed they won’t give it a go. 

"Who knows where Test cricket is going to go. It’s under pressure. I think everyone knows that, particularly from the Twenty20 game. 

"So why not try a few things and if it works out, fantastic. And if it doesn’t, well, at least you’ve given it a go to see how everyone responds to it. 

"From what we’ve seen ... it works a treat. There are subtle different tactics that are employed between the day and the evening; when you declare, when you use the new ball. 

"I don’t know what the thinking is behind not giving it a go for at least a couple of games to get a feel for what it’s like."