Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian cricket captain and now a commentator, has given his opinion on the ongoing debate regarding spin-friendly pitches in India. According to Gavaskar, India is making such pitches because they lack a quality fast-bowling unit at the moment. He stated that if the Indian team had ace bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, they might have made more sporting wickets.
The veteran cricketer expressed his disappointment with the way Indian batters performed in the just-concluded Indore Test, which finished in just two-and-a-half days. India got bowled out for 109 in the first innings after opting to bat first. There was not much improvement in the second innings as India put up just 163 runs. Australia eventually chased down the target of 76 runs to win the match by 9 wickets and registered their first victory in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series.
Gavaskar said that, in the second innings, Indian batters batted as if they had already decided that it was very difficult to bat on this track. The Indore pitch, which was used for the third Test, was rated “poor” by ICC. However, Gavaskar believes that India had no other option but to produce rank turners in the series if they wanted to reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final. He added that India’s strength lies in its spinners, and these pitches are testing the temperament of the batters.
Gavaskar’s statement comes amid the ongoing debate about the pitch quality for the fourth Test between India and Australia, which will be played in Ahmedabad. Many experts have criticized India for creating spin-friendly pitches to gain a home advantage. However, Gavaskar defended India’s stance and said that taking 20 wickets is not going to be easy in India. He believes that India can take 20 wickets with a little bit of help from a dry pitch, which is the thinking behind preparing such pitches.
It’s worth noting that India’s premier fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, is currently injured and recovering. The last time he featured for India was in September 2022, and he will also miss the IPL 2023 and the World Test Championship Final due to his injury. Gavaskar believes that India would have done something different if they had a strong attack, but their strength lies in their spinners.
The series between India and Australia currently stands at 2-1, with India having already retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth time on the trot as they won the first two Test matches at Nagpur and Delhi. However, the Kangaroos made a comeback and won the third Test that happened in Indore. The fourth Test is expected to be a thriller, with both teams aiming to secure a spot in the WTC final.
