‘We never complained about pitches’ – Former India head coach dismisses cheating claims over Nagpur Test ahead of BGT 2023
Amid all the talks about the pitch ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has claimed that India is not “cheating” with the Nagpur pitch ahead of the first Test. A few days before the start of the first Test, an image of groundsmen working on specific parts of the pitch has been doing rounds.
It was observed that the rollers were only used in the centre of the pitch. The Australian side is full of left-handers as they have five in the top seven. However, Matt Renshaw, you s likely to miss the first Test. But they still have the likes of David Warner, Usman Khwaja, Travis Head, and Alex Carey.
“That is bulls**t! It’s more hype than anything else surrounding this first Test match. But if you go out there and think you’re going to smash every ball, good luck to you,” Ravi Shastri was quoted as saying on Fox Cricket.
We’re lucky we’ve normally got pace and bounce: Pat Cummins
Former Indian cricketer said that the hosts are within their rights to do whatever they want to do with the pitch. “If the ball is going to turn from there, so be it. So what? It’s home conditions, do what suits you, both teams have to play on the surface, there’s a match referee who is the boss, it’s as simple as that,” asserted the former India head coach.
“We never complained about pitches, in my career we never complained about a simple pitch. No excuses, just get on with it, at the end of three days no one’s going to get killed on that surface. The quality of the camera lenses is so good, they can make green grass look brown, that’s what you expect in India, come on,” he added.
After all the discussions about the pitch made a point where their skipper Pat Cummins said that they were happy about the chaos. “These series always throw up different challenges on the field or off the field, and embracing it is what makes these tours so special,” stated the Australian seamer.
“That’s part of the challenge of playing away. Home teams want to win at home. In Australia, we’re lucky we’ve normally got pace and bounce. Home match advantage, I don’t think it’s a terrible thing. It’s another challenge and makes touring over here even harder when you know the conditions are custom-made for them,” the 29-year-old added.
