The quality of Indian pitches has been a hot topic since the beginning of India vs England Test series started this month. From cricket pundits to English cricket fans, multiple fingers have been raised against the Indian cricket authorities for bad pitches, resulting in England’s poor performance. The latest to join this debate this David Lloyd, former England cricketer and now a commentator. He has asked ICC to review the situation butadded that it is hopeless to expect an answer from them any time soon.
“I gave this pitch the benefit of the doubt on the first day but, I’m sorry, it was just as bad as the last one. And the big question has to be asked again of the ICC. Is this how you want the game to go?” Lloyd wrote in a column.
He used the example of Joe Root taking out five wickets to validate his point. If a part-time bowler can manage this feat, anyone can do it. The matches in this series have hardly lasted two days. On two occasions, the English batting order fell apart within hours of starting. India is currently leading the series by 2-1.
The pitch in question is the newly renamed Narendra Modi Stadium (formerly known as Motera Stadium). Kevin Pietersen had recently joked on Twitter whether this pitch is one where winning the toss would mean winning the match shortly before the 3rd match commenced.
Others have also joined the debate from various countries. “The longer powerful countries like India are allowed to get away with it the more toothless the ICC will look,” wrote former English captain Michael Vaughan in a column for Daily Telegraph.
Indian Captain Virat Kohli defended the pitch citing batsmen from either side did not apply their full potential and the pitch is absolutely playable.Others to criticise the pitch as not being ideal include Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Alastair Cook and Nasser Hussain.
Whereas former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said it’s wrong to keep blaming the pitches for poor performance.
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