'Wrist spinners will have one advantage if you see because it's going to be very difficult to pick the seam (with black stitches) of pink ball,' Harbhajan Singh said
New Delhi: Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed wrist spinners to play a big part in the day/night Test between India and Bangladesh at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens.
India will play their first-ever pink ball Test from November 22. The hosts hold a 1-0 lead in the two-match series against the visitors after having won't he opening game in Indore by an innings and 130 runs.
Also read: How a pink ball is made
Now, the players are focused on the historic day/night Test. The ongoing series is part of the ICC World Test Championship. India are on top of the table with 300 points.
Speaking to PTI news agency, Harbhajan, who played 103 Tests for India, explained how wrist spinners will have advantage with the pink ball.
“Wrist spinners will have one advantage if you see because it's going to be very difficult to pick the seam (with black stitches) of pink ball,” Harbhajan said on Tuesday (November 19).
Also read: 'Bowlers will have fun in day/night Test'
Kuldeep Yadav is the lone wrist spinner in Virat Kohli’s side. However, Harbhajan did not want to speak on selection issues.
“Well, that's the team management's call and I can't comment. But then Bangladesh need to play the Indian pacers on the seamer friendly track before spinners are fully operational,” the 39-year-old, who took 417 Test wickets, said.
“And also between 3.30 and 4.30 pm, the time of sunset in Kolkata where seamers are known to do maximum damage. But yes we need to figure out more about spinners if we want to play more D/N Tests in future,” he added.
He reminded how Kuldeep turned out to be lethal during the 2016 Duleep Trophy, played with the pink ball.
“If you remember Duleep Trophy, no one could effectively read Kuldeep from his wrists. Leg spinners got lot of wickets during that edition,” Harbhajan said.
He explained why wrist spinners are more effective.
“When a finger spinner bowls, the ball is released with seam so that there is turn and bounce. When you are bowling the googly, the seam will be scrambled and very difficult to pick,” he explained.
(With inputs from PTI)
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