India vs England 2021: “Don’t wear spikes while batting on rank turners” – Mohammed Azharuddin advices batsmen after low-scoring third test

India vs England 2021: “Don’t wear spikes while batting on rank turners” – Mohammed Azharuddin advices batsmen after low-scoring third test

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India vs England, Ahemadabad, 2021
Action from the third test

The third test between India and England which ended yesterday has become a hot topic for discussion over what kind of pitches to prepare for test matches. The match lasted for under 2 days as batsmen found it very difficult to survive on a turning pitch. The English batters especially couldn’t get any sort of momentum going as they fell twice for paltry scores as Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin made merry.

After the match, there have been some arguments stating that home advantage is preparing pitches to one’s strengths and hence, India were right in doing it. Further, the English batters couldn’t apply their technique properly and could have scored more with a bit more concentration. Others have called the pitch a disgrace Test cricket and stated that a test is meant to be played over five days and hence, pitches should be prepared that way.

Mohammed Azharuddin has his say on the debate

Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin took to Twitter to express his disappointment with the batting performance of both teams. He also suggested that on such tracks, spikes should not be worn but rather that rubber soles should be used. He wrote, “It was disappointing to watch the batsmen come a cropper in the Ahmedabad Test. The key to batting on such dry tracks and rank turners is shot-selection and assured footwork. It makes little sense to wear spikes when batting. Rubber soles dont hamper ability of batsmen (sic).”

He then said, “I have seen some amazing Test knocks being played on tough surfaces by batsmen who wore shoes with rubber soles. The argument that batsmen can slip when running between wickets is countered by the fact that in Wimbledon, all tennis players wear shoes with rubber soles. And the ones that come to mind are not just Indians like Sunil Gavaskar Mohinder Amarnath and Dilip Vengsarkar but also many a visiting batsman like Sir Vivian Richards, Mike Gatting Allan Border, Clive Lloyd and several others,” he added.

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