Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has expressed the need for India to play on improved pitches at home following their 209-run defeat against Australia in the final of the 2023 World Test Championship at the Kennington Oval in London. Chopra shared his views on his YouTube channel, highlighting that India’s familiarity with rank-turners at home results in matches ending within 1.5 to 2.5 days, rarely going the full duration. India’s final-day collapse saw them bowled out for 234 runs, allowing Australia to claim the WTC Mace.
“The difficult pitches we make in India – it is a huge reason, that we are now playing on rank turners in India. The matches get over in 1.5 to 2.5 days. The match doesn’t go to the fifth day at all. If it goes to the fifth day, it means it will be a draw,” Aakash Chopra commented.
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Chopra emphasized that winning matches alone is insufficient if the batsmen don’t gain confidence by scoring big runs. He questioned the continuation of this practice, despite India’s success in the home Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. However, their performance in the WTC Final failed to replicate that success.
“When you play on such pitches, you win the match, blow away the opposing team, but your batters also don’t score runs. It has gone on for too long. All of us are okay with that. Why are we okay? Why are we happy with winning matches on such pitches? Winning matches is not everything,” Aakash Chopra expressed.
Chopra asserted that India must play on improved pitches at home to boost the confidence of their batsmen, enabling them to perform in crucial matches like the WTC Final. India’s last ICC trophy victory came a decade ago when they clinched the Champions Trophy under the leadership of MS Dhoni in 2013.
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“I am asking how will you get the confidence. You will not get confidence at all if you don’t score runs, and you will get confidence at home only. This game is about confidence. In my opinion, we need to start playing on better pitches,” Aakash Chopra emphasized.
Next, India will embark on a tour of the Caribbean, where they will compete against the West Indies in a series comprising two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is.
