Babar Azam wants a pink ball, but the rulebook and the calendar are both against him. The ICC trial allows the swap in daytime Tests only when both sides agree before the match begins, and nothing suggests the two boards have done so for Rawalpindi. A drawn opener that lost almost 141 overs to bad weather explains the appeal, yet his idea has gone nowhere in the days since. Here is what stands in the way, and why the red ball will probably stay.
A Trial With Strict Conditions
The ICC trial covers series starting on or after 1 October 2026, which brings the current contest between Pakistan and Sri Lanka inside its scope. Its purpose is narrow: a pink ball may replace the red one in daytime Tests so that bad light costs fewer overs across a five-day match. That sounds like exactly what the opening match needed, and Babar has said as much in public, shortly after the draw was confirmed. Home status buys Pakistan no extra say, because the rule treats both boards identically in every respect.
The catch is the consent rule. Both teams must accept the change before the Test begins, and once play starts the ball cannot be switched. A captain therefore cannot reach for it when clouds roll in on day three. It is a pre-match agreement, so one reluctant side is enough to block it completely, and Sri Lanka have given no sign of wanting it.
Pakistan pink ball second Test
The next match runs from 17 to 21 November at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. It was shifted from Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore because of smog, with the dates left untouched, so the organisers have already used up their flexibility on moving the venue. Any further change to the match conditions would land on top of that disruption. Logistics, not cricket, have dominated the build-up so far.
The two boards have not considered a pink-ball switch for this fixture. That leaves a few days of practice at best, and nobody can order up the specialist preparation that Babar says the format demands. Players would be asked to pick up a different ball under a different light almost overnight, which is a lot to ask in a five-day match. Hesson himself framed the question as one for before a series, which fits the timing problem.
Lost Overs Explain the Appeal
The drawn first Test, played from 9 to 13 November, lost nearly 141 overs. Only three innings took place, and two were completed. Pakistan declared at 434 for 9 after 106.3 overs, Sri Lanka replied with 446 in 117.2, and the hosts were 284 for 8 from 84.5 when time ran out on their second turn. A result needed more cricket than the weather allowed, which is the backdrop to Babar’s argument.
After that match, Babar argued that a pink ball needs different preparation and that a couple of days are not enough, though he is open to it given a longer lead-in. Head coach Mike Hesson said the idea needs serious thought before a series starts, not halfway through one. Both comments point at planning and timing, not at any objection to the ball itself. Babar and Hesson both want the format tried, only later, once proper preparation time is built into the schedule ahead of a series.
A Patchy Record Under Lights
The history adds little encouragement. Pakistan have played four pink-ball Tests, winning one and losing three, and none of them has been staged at home. In Dubai they defeated West Indies by 56 runs in 2016, then went down to Sri Lanka by a 68-run margin in 2017. That single victory came on neutral ground, a long way from any home crowd.
Away results were worse: a 39-run defeat in Brisbane in 2016 and an innings-and-5-run loss in Adelaide in 2019. Until both boards sign off before the toss, talk of a Pakistan pink ball second Test stays hypothetical, and the red ball remains the default for Rawalpindi. Babar may well get his experiment, but not this month. Four matches are a small sample, but one win against three losses has not given selectors a reason to rush into a change.