Sourav Ganguly has questioned India’s home pitch preparation following Jasprit Bumrah’s six-for against England in Vizag, arguing that India’s batting has been weakened by their home Test surfaces over the last six to seven years.
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In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ganguly said that India would be able to take 20 wickets on any surface with their four frontline spinners, and thus didn’t need to prepare turning surface which don’t exploit the strengths of their seam bowlers. Bumrah blasted through England today (February 3), on a flat surface in Visakhapatnam, taking six wickets and cleaning up both Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope with unplayable deliveries.
“When I see Bumrah, Shami, Siraj and Mukesh bowl… I wonder why do we need to prepare turning tracks in India,” wrote Ganguly. “My conviction of playing on good wickets keeps getting stronger every game… They will get 20 wickets on any surface with Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep and Axar.”
When I see Bumrah Sami Siraj Mukesh bowl . I wonder why do we need to prepare turning tracks in india ..my conviction of playing on good wickets keeps getting stronger every game .. They will get 20 wickets on any surface with ashwin jadeja Kuldeep and axar .. batting quality…
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) February 3, 2024
Ganguly went on to question whether preparing wickets which excessively turn over the last decade has has had a negative effect on India’s batters: “Batting quality dropping because of pitches in last 6 to 7 yrs at home… Good wickets are a must… India will still win over 5 days.”
India finished Day Two on 28-0 in Vizag, leading by 171 runs after bowling England out in 55.5 overs. All of India’s spinners conceded more than four runs an over in England’s first innings, with Kuldeep Yadav the pick of the group taking three wickets.
Last year, Test match pitch preparation in India came under significant scrutiny when all of the first three Tests of the Australia series ended in under three days. The pitch for the third Test in Indore was subsequently rated ‘Poor’ by the ICC, citing that the pitch provided “little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match.”
