Rahul Dravid did not agree with ICC’s ‘average’ ratings for the pitches at Chennai and Ahmedabad for India’s matches at the 2023 World Cup.

India opened their 2023 World Cup campaign at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. They bowled out Australia for 199, and after being reduced to 2-3, chased down the target with six wickets and 52 balls in hand.

Later, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, they dismissed Pakistan for 191. This time they won with seven wickets and 117 balls to spare. With wins against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, they now have eight points from four matches.

The ICC rated the Chennai and Ahmedabad pitches as ‘average’. Ahead of India’s match against New Zealand (who are also unbeaten after four matches) at Dharamsala, a journalist at the press conference asked Rahul Dravid, head coach of the Indian team, about of the ratings.

“I will definitely respectfully disagree with the ‘average’ rating given for those two wickets,” responded Dravid. “I think they were good wickets. If you only want to see 350-games and rate only those wickets as good, then I disagree with that. I think you have to see different skills on display as well.

“It’s not about if we wanted to see only fours and sixes being hit, then we have T20 wickets as well, where, honestly, in Delhi or in Pune, probably 350-plus wickets as well.

“Only those are good wickets, then why are the bowlers here? Why have spinners at all, for that matter? If you all want spinners to come in and bowl 10-60 and go, so that you can watch fours and sixes; and one ball spins or two balls spin and you rate that as average.

“I disagree with that because I think we should see all skills on display, the ability to rotate strike through the middle. See the quality of watching [Ravindra] Jadeja bowl or a [Mitchell] Santner bowl or a [Adam] Zampa bowl or watching Kane Williamson rotate the strike through the middle, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul the way they batted against Australia. Those are skills as well. Those also need to come out and be shown and be displayed.

“Some of the wickets, even we have played, I mean, honestly, in Delhi and Pune, rotating the strike in the middle overs wasn’t necessarily a very difficult skill. The contest was about who could hit more fours and sixes. So that’s not the only way, in my opinion, respectfully, to be able to judge wickets. I think we need to have a better way of deciding what is good and average.

“So, I give you an example. I mean, we were, So I don’t know what the rating was for those wickets, but we played the T20 World Cup in Australia. In Perth, we played a game 138 plays 138. India plays South Africa, seaming and swinging all over the place. That’s a T20 game. I don’t know what rating was given to that. I hope, maybe I hope, that was rated average as well.

“World T20 final, Pakistan plays England. Again 130, scored in a T20 game. I am not complaining about that. I think it is good, it is great. That wicket at Perth was good. It challenged different skills. It brought different skills out in display. And I am saying this even though we have lost those games. So that is no problem with that. Sometimes wickets will turn a bit, sometimes they will seam a bit, they will swing a bit, they will bounce a bit. All we want to see is sixes and fours being hit in 350 scores as good wickets, then I disagree.”

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