Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has urged Team India not to prepare rank turners for the Test series against the West Indies as well. He said that such pitches prove counterproductive as they bring the two
sides closer as well. Notably, India will play against the West Indies in a two-match Test series. While the first Test
will take place in Ahmedabad from Thursday (October 2) onwards, the second game will begin in Delhi on October 10 as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “The biggest thing is what sort of pitches you want to play on in these two matches. We got stuck in Bengaluru when the pitch had a lot of moisture. Then we went to Pune and Mumbai and played on turners, and got stuck in both places. Why do you have to make such pitches?”

“Such pitches are not required at all because the more bowler-friendly pitches you make, the closer the teams come. Yoy are playing in the subcontinent. So the ball will turn. However, if it turns from the first ball and the soil starts coming out, stay away from that kind of a surface because that surface is counterproductive,” he added.

However, Aakash Chopra added that the Tests against the West Indies should be played on good pitches, where the matches go into the fourth or fifth day as well.

“You should play on good pitches where you will have to work a little hard. If the match doesn’t get over in three days, so be it. It’s a five-day match. It’s absolutely fine if it’s a three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half day game. I will be very honest, if you see Virat Kohli or Cheteshwar Pujara’s careers, you will find that the runs they didn’t score in the end for a long time, the main reason for that was the Indian pitches. When you make such pitches in India, where runs aren’t scored, you don’t get confidence, and runs won’t be scored overseas in any case,” Aakash Chopra concluded.