Sri Lankan cricket authorities have reportedly rejected Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) proposal of playing day-night Tests in the upcoming series in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between the two countries.
According to Sport24, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had approved the day-night matches under floodlights as a way to stem dwindling interest in Tests in many countries, although the body has left it to individual boards to decide when and how to experiment as no country has yet tried the new format.
However, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has stated that it has turned down PCB's request to play day-night Tests as the Sri Lanka national cricket team players have not practised under lights and with the new pink ball.
The report further said that the challenge facing such Tests has been to find a ball that is clearly visible in both sunshine and floodlights, although the PCB had said that it had sent the SLC a dozen balls of pink and orange colour for them to examine.
According to the report, Pakistan host Sri Lanka for three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20s in December and January in the UAE.
The first Test starts in Dubai on December 31, while the other two Tests are in Abu Dhabi (January 8-12) and Sharjah (January 16-20), the report added.