India vs England 2021: ‘Who decides what a good surface is?’ – Ravichandran Ashwin hits back at Ahmedabad pitch critics in press conference
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The third Test of the ongoing Test series between England was a pink-ball Test. While a thrilling encounter was expected between the star-studded sides, the game lasted only two days. Such a result has now sparked a controversy over the pitch used. Many fans and former players are of the view that the pitch was ‘poor’. On the other hand, the Indian captain Virat Kohli rated it ‘very good’ blaming poor batting for the result.
As the storm continues to brew, Ravichandran Ashwin faced a barrage of questions on the pitch. And this irked up the veteran off-spinner. He hit out at an English journalist for asking if the pitch was good. Ashwin asked what defines a good pitch as he urged fans to get over the losses with grace.
“I have a question back. What is a good cricket surface? Who decides what a good surface is?” Ashwin asked. “Yes, of course. The bowlers want to win the game. The batsman needs to bat well to get runs. No question about it. What makes a good surface? Who defines this? Seam on the first day and then bat well and then spin on the last two days? Come on! Who makes all these rules?”
“We need to get over it and not talk about whatever picture you want to paint. If you’re asking if it is a good Test surface, I don’t see any of the players coming from England having an issue with the surface. They want to improve, they look like they want to have a contest. Is it the players and the people who are reporting back that want their players to not complete and complain about the pitches? Because we have never done that on any of the tours,” he said in a virtual press conference.
Ravichandran Ashwin ‘absolutely not disturbed with’ bowlers not being credited
While the credit should be to the bowlers for their skillful execution, it is the pitches who have been grabbing the limelight. Ashwin shares that bowlers have been rob off their credits for over a decade now. And it is something which doesn’t bother him. He shares that his cryptic tweets off late were aimed at how people’s opinions are being conditioned.
“I’m absolutely not disturbed with things being taken away from the context because this is what’s been happening for the last decade, if not more,” Ashwin said. “That is why I put out the tweets that I did. I think people need to get the context of what’s happening here. There have been some people who have messaged me and said match has finished in two days. What about all the three pink-ball Test matches we’ve played, everything’s ended within three days’ time.“
“I do not know what to say because when somebody just throws an opinion out there about the surface – and having had played the game – unfortunately maybe they’ve not played the pink-ball Test matches, so they do not understand this facet of the game. My angst against the whole thing is the fact that when people say something there are so many of them who are watching the same picture but are not able to paint a different one compared to somebody who is driving and selling a certain case to us and this needs to stop.“
India and England will play the final Test in Ahmedabad from March 4. With a loss in the third Test, the visitors have crashed out of the World Test Championship final race. On the other hand, India need a win or a draw to book a seat in the final.
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Anshuman Mahapatra
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