Ravichandran Ashwin, the Indian spinner, is not quite unhappy with the manner in which some former cricketers are blaming the pitch for England’s loss in the Ahmedabad test match. R Ashwin has taken seven wickets in the third test match but what has triggered a debate about the pitch is the fact that the match ended in 2 days with India winning the match by 10 wickets. Though few former Indian cricketers also talked about the pitch and called it unsuitable for a 5-day test match, the Indian star batsman Rohit Sharma and the Indian skipper Virat Kohli defended the pitch and stated the lack of focus and application as the main reasons behind the failure of batsmen of both the sides. Both Indian cricketers also asked how the pitch can be blamed when 21 out of 30 wickets fell on straight deliveries.
Ashwin also took to Twitter in the past and made some cryptic tweets in which he asked people not to fall in the trap which is being thrown by former England cricketers who want everyone to believe that pitch was bad rather than accepting the fact that the England batsmen failed big time and their bowlers were not as good as the Indian bowlers.
While talking in a virtual press conference, R. Ashwin says that everyone has the right to give their opinion and he is not trying to prove anybody wrong but the discussion on the pitch is really crossing the limits now. He further asks whether there is any example in which so much discussion about the pitch has taken place when the Indian team has played in other countries.
The Indian spinner also talks about the video of Virat Kohli from the tour of South Africa which is going viral as well as about the two test matches that India played in New Zealand and both the matches ended in total 5 days. In the viral video, Virat Kohli has stated that he is not there to speak about the pitch and by referring to it, Ashwin says that this is how the Indians are taught to play cricket.
The Tamil Nadu cricketer further says that batsmen need to score runs while bowlers need to take wickets and win the match. He goes on to ask as to who makes the rules regarding the good pitch on which the ball should seam on the first day, then batsmen should get help for next two days and after that, the pitch should help the spinners.
Do you agree with Ravichandran Ashwin over the debate on pitch? Let us know your views in this regard.