Renowned Indian Sunil Gavaskar pointed out the double standards in evaluating Indian spin-friendly pitches compared to the scrutiny faced by pitches abroad. The recent match at Newlands in Cape Town witnessed the shortest Test match in history as India triumphed over South Africa by seven wickets, leveling the series.
The Proteas chose to bat first but were dismissed for only 55, sparking discussions about the pitch during the two days of play. South Africa’s batting coach Ashwell Prince voiced his dissatisfaction with the pitch, while Rohit Sharma mentioned that he doesn’t mind such pitches as long as there’s equal criticism for Indian pitches.
Pitches in the subcontinent have frequently faced scrutiny, evident in instances like the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2023 Border-Gavaskar series. Ahead of the series, Team India was accused of ‘pitch doctoring’ due to a dry patch on the Nagpur pitch for the series opener.
“These kind of excuses that the curator got it wrong is typical of the SENA countries. When our curators make a dry pitch then it’s ‘chicanery’, as a former Australian skipper said last year after the Aussies had been walloped in the first two Test matches,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-day.
“So our groundsmen do it deliberately, but their groundsmen just get it wrong. It’s like before the third country umpires came in, where decisions by their umpires were excused as ‘human error’ while our umpires were cheats and ‘Delhi Butchers’ and all such derogatory headlines,” Gavaskar added.
In 2024, Team India is set to participate in 10 Tests on home ground as part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, sparking anticipation and discussions about the pitches once again.
“Anything that doesn’t suit their team will be criticised and allegations will fly thick and fast”- Sunil Gavaskar views on England’s upcoming tour of India
The initial home series for Team India in the current WTC cycle is slated against England. The teams are scheduled to compete in a five-match Test series commencing on January 25 in Hyderabad.
England, particularly their experts, have consistently expressed criticism of Indian pitches over the years, and this upcoming tour is likely to be no exception.
“In about three weeks time another Test series starts with a country that has the biggest whingeing and moaning media in sport. Anything that doesn’t suit their team will be criticised and allegations will fly thick and fast,” Gavaskar concluded.
While England was the most recent team to defeat India in the subcontinent, they have secured only one victory in the country in their last nine attempts.
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