Pragyan Ojha not totally convinced about the pink ball yet

Pragyan Ojha will play for Bengal this season

If there is a topic that has dominated the cricketing circles in the past few months, it is the pink ball and whether or not teams are ready to play more with it, under the lights, in whites. 

There have been contrasting opinions over the durability of the pink ball with some players finding not a lot of difference in colour as compared to red and indicating that it could be the way forward if Test cricket needs to remain the prime form of the game.

However, one Indian bowler in still not completely convinced about the pink ball. Spinner Pragyan Ojha, who played in the Duleep Trophy, that was conducted under lights, feels that the cherry was too much in favour of batsmen and added that a better balance was required.

"The pink ball has to be improved so that there's right balance between bat and ball. As a spinner, I had found it very difficult to grip the ball in the first match.This meant that we were not able to spin the ball much and that was to the advantage of the batsmen," Ojha told, on the sidelines of the start of a new season, the Times of India.

"Spin has been our strength and if spinners are not able to generate turn with the pink ball than that it is a cause for worry. The other thing is reverse swing which is another big factor on flat pitches here,” he added.

A lot of Ojha’s senior teammates have made a return back to the national setup in recent times and at 30, he remains optimistic of making it back into the Indian team, especially with the long stretch of Tests that India will be playing against quality oppositions.

"Why not. Age is not a key factor but performance and form is. Last year Ashish Nehra made a comeback and now the selectors have recalled Gautam Gambhir, so I believe that if a player performs consistently then he will get a chance."It's a very long Test season at home and very important one for me too. I am working hard at my game and looking forward to do well and knock the Indian doors again," he said.

With Ravindra Jadeja performing very well with hs left-arm spin and Amit Mishra in the reserves, it seems a bit difficult to see Ojha fit into the scheme of things at present, but he can take inspiration from the Saurashtra all-rounder, who made it back into the Indian setup in Tests after a superb start to the Ranji Trophy season last year.