Babar Azam and Mike Hesson - the captain and coach of Pakistan respectively - have shown openness to the idea of using the pink ball for day Tests at home for future series after bad light and rain forced the first Test against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi to end in a draw.
Almost 141 overs were lost as the players had to walk off the field earlier than the scheduled close of play each evening due to bad light, save for the fourth day which was called off in the afternoon session because of the rain. Even on the fourth afternoon, the umpires had to intervene and suspend the play before it started to pour down as the light dimmed to such an extent that continuing with the red ball under lights risked injury.
That this match would conclude in a draw was certain when play resumed on the fifth day with Pakistan only 45 runs ahead of Sri Lanka with one wicket down as they looked to set a target for Sri Lanka.
As it turned out, Pakistan batted throughout the day before the umpires called off play at 4.18pm - almost two hours before the scheduled close of play at 6:10pm - after Saud Shakeel succumbed in the 90s for the second time in the match. Just across the first three days, almost two sessions worth of play was lost as only 14.2, 15.1, and 12 overs were bowled in the evening sessions.
The ICC, after its last quarterly meeting, has approved the use of pink balls in day Tests to tackle the issue of overs lost because of bad light and Hesson says that the option "seriously needs to be considered" in the future.
"It is certainly something that needs to be talked about for the future series," Hesson told the host broadcaster after the match. "It is going to be a challenge to play Test matches in this time of the year regardless of where in Pakistan. As the ICC have now allowed that to be an option, this is something that seriously needs to be considered before the series."
Cricinfo understands that the two boards did not consider a switch to the pink ball for the second and last Test of the series after it was relocated to Rawalpindi because of hazardous levels of smog in Lahore.
With only three days between the two Tests, Babar believed there was not enough time to get accustomed to the vagaries of the pink ball. But welcomed it being as an alternative in such situations.
"You will need to prepare for it as we usually play with the red ball," he said in the post-match presentation. "A couple of days are not enough to prepare to play a Test with the pink ball. It is a good that we have it as an option, but the preparation for a pink ball Test demands more time."
The sun starts to set early in Rawalpindi in peak winter months, making carrying on the day's play until the end of the scheduled time almost impossible. Anticipating the loss of overs towards the end of each day's play, the PCB scheduled this Test at 9:30, half-an-hour earlier than the usual starting time for first-class matches in Pakistan. The overnight dew and early morning moisture make starting earlier than that unviable.
This match has panned out almost similarly to the last time these two teams played against each other in a Test match here - back in December 2019. Though that match was affected severely by rain, the bad light had its say on the days when it did not pour down as only 18 and 9.3 overs were bowled in the evening sessions of the first and fifth day.
Even England's historic win against Pakistan here during the first Test of their 2022 tour came under bright floodlights on day five.
PCB has hosted Test cricket at three more venues since international cricket returned to Pakistan in late 2019, and two of them, Lahore and Multan, become out of bounds in November and December because of smog and dense fog. Even in January, Lahore and Multan remain far from idea Tests venues because of fog and early sunsets.
Prior to the recent change in the venue for the second Test against Sri Lanka, the PCB has had to make adjustments in its schedule because of the weather-related concerns. It was forced to move an ODI series against Zimbabwe from Lahore to Rawalpindi in 2020 and the second Test against New Zealand from Multan to Karachi in 2022.
Karachi - the third - doesn't have to cater for these weather concerns. But currently the National Stadium remains out of bounds because of the renovation work and it was not clear until when its facelift will be completed. And whenever it does become available, the PCB would still require a second venue to host Test cricket for almost half of its home season, which usually spans from October until the end of March.