‘Subcontinental pitches always face backlash’ - Sunil Gavaskar questions double standards after two-day Ashes Test

Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar highlighted perceived double standards while discussing the first Ashes Test between England and Australia, which concluded in under two days. The match saw 32 wickets fall as Australia secured an eight-wicket victory.

Gavaskar noted that the pitch received surprisingly little criticism, in stark contrast to the scrutiny the Eden Gardens pitch faced during the first Test between India and South Africa, where it was said to excessively assist spinners. He further remarked that the Perth pitch, contrary to expectations, had more grass than usual, suggesting it offered assistance to seamers and contributed to the early collapse of the English batting lineup.

“The Perth Test match has ended in less than two days with 32 wickets having fallen, including 19 on the first day, but as yet there's not a word of criticism about the pitch there. Last year too, 17 wickets fell on Day One at Perth between India and Australia, and I can't recall a critical word about the pitch, which had more grass on it than usual," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

Gavaskar further noted that criticism tends to be limited when a pitch assists fast bowlers. However, when subcontinental pitches favour spinners, the curators often face intense scrutiny and backlash.

“The same was in Sydney where 15 wickets fell on Day One. The argument, as enumerated by the curator in Perth last year, was ‘this is Perth, Australia, and you will get bounce'. Fine, but then when the pitch affords turn, why can't it be accepted that this is India, and there will be turn? If you complain about the bounce, then the counter argument is you can't play fast bowling. Why is there never a counter argument that you can't play spin bowling when the pitch affords turn in India?" Gavaskar wrote.

“Is it the old syndrome of mistakes being made by their umpires being called human error, while those errors made by subcontinent umpires were cheating? So similarly, is it that the curators there have no agenda, but those in India do? It's good to see some of our recently retired cricketers asking questions about 19 wickets falling in a day. So guys, it's time to stop pointing fingers at Indian cricket as there are three of the same hand pointing back at you," he added.