Amidst all the talk around the pitch, India Head Coach Rahul Dravid seems unfazed. The former Indian captain said that while the match referee is entitled to his opinion, sometimes it is important to produce pitches that are result oriented, particularly with WTC points at stake.
The remarks come ahead of the 4th Test in Ahmedabad and after ICC gave 'poor' rating to the Indore pitch where the third Test was played.
"I won't go too much into it. The match referee is entitled to share his opinion. Doesn't really matter if I agree with his reading or not. Doesn't matter what I think. But sometimes with WTC points at stake, you tend to play on wickets that produce results," Dravid was straightforward in his defence of the three tracks in Nagpur, Delhi and Indore.
Justifying the pitches curated for this series, Dravid recalled that their 2021 encounter against New Zealand in Kanpur was drawn owing to a flat wicket and those kinds of games can set the team back in the WTC points table. "There is a huge premium on results and if you draw a game like we did in Kanpur versus New Zealand, that sets you back in a home game. When you have 12 for a win and 4 for draw, you want to get a win ahead of a draw," he stated.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma to Chris Gayle, list of batters with most sixes in T20 cricket
There was a hint of sarcasm as well as irritation when he spoke about the tracks in South Africa where India played three Tests early last year. "We have played on some challenging wickets when we go overseas also. Played in South Africa recently (2022), where spinners were completely taken out of the game. And everyone wants to produce wickets where eventually one wants results. You will probably prepare wickets where the ball holds a bit more sway over the bat and that's necessary and part of the game," Dravid didn't deny the bowlers' advantage."
The last Test is scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad on March 9, 2022.
