The pitch in the third Test between India and England in Ahmedabad stole the limelight more than the cricketing stalwarts who played in it. The Test ended in two days, and it was also the major focus in the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli’s press conference ahead of the fourth and final game of the series, which will also be held at the same venue. Virat Kohli came out hard at the critics of spinning pitches, saying there is “too much noise about spinning tracks”.
Virat had a counter-question to it, he said, “Do you play the game to win it or to make sure it goes to five days and there is entertainment?”
Kohli maintained that the skill of the batsmen should be looked at more than conditions, and said that his team never made complaints while playing in seaming tracks abroad.
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Talking about the same, Virat elaborated, “I believe there is too much noise about spinning tracks. The reason behind our success as a team is that we haven’t cribbed about any surface we have played on. We have always tried to improve. I am sure if our media is in a space to contradict those views or present views which say that it is unfair to criticize only spin tracks, then it will be a balanced conversation.”
He further added, “But the unfortunate bit is everyone plays along with that narrative and keeps making it news till the time it is relevant. And then a Test match happens, if you win on day 4 or 5, no one says anything but if it finishes in two days, everyone pounces on the same issue. It has always been the case that spinning tracks are criticized but when the ball seems a lot and teams are bundled out for 40-50, no one talks about it.”
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Asked again if the Test community needed to look at the fact that the pitch conditions give home teams an advantage, Kohli asserted that this question needs to be asked when they are on an England, Australia, or New Zealand tour, not right after we have won on two spinning tracks at home.
India currently leads the series 2-1. The fourth Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium is set to begin on Thursday.
