White cricket balls, notoriously difficult at times for both batsmen and fielders, could soon be replaced by pink balls across the one-day international format and the trials will happen at Indian Premier League beginning March 12 next year.

A consensus is being arrived to phase out the white balls which, after being discoloured by the grass, are difficult for fielders and batsmen to see in certain light conditions.

“Pink ball trials will happen at IPL practice games,” IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi told Greater Voice. Modi appears enthusiastic for pink balls which could also show up better on television.

Sources said the trials are going to happen with the aim of a pink ball being used in one-day internationals as the pink balls would compensate for visibility difficulties.

Traditionally, white balls are used for one-day matches and red balls are used for Test and all other cricket. Pink balls have already been used in selected cricket matches in England as experiments to see if they are more visible to players and fans.

Marylebone Cricket Club, which creates and upholds the rules of cricket, has also worked with scientists at Imperial College in London to determine the merits of a fluorescent pink ball.

“This is very interesting. After trying white and orange, a colour might have been found that is easier on the eye,” said senior photographer Partha Sarkar, an expert in covering cricket.