A senseless controversy around the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium before the first semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 didn’t affect Indian batter Shubman Gill in any way. Having scored an impact-generating 80* (66) at a strike rate of 121.21, Gill downplayed hearing reports of the pitch being changed at the last minute to benefit the home team.
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Gill was addressing the reporters after India’s 70-run win over New Zealand when he was asked whether media reports had reached the Indian dressing room or not. Gill, who had a smile on his face, appeared surprisingly unaware of the happenings.
“Mujhe toh abhi pata laga pitch ke upar controversy hui thi. Aapne bataya abhi. Kya controversy thi? [I just came to know about the pitch controversy after you told me. What was the controversy?],” Gill responded to a question with another question.
It all began post overseas media picked on a report published in The Indian Express to allege that the BCCI flexed their muscle to change to a “slower pitch” due to the presence of two A-list Indian spinners. The allegations put forth how the match was originally scheduled to be played on a “fresh wicket”. However, late amendments were made because of India’s inclination towards a used surface (more favourable for spinners).
Hours before a World Cup knockout match, such a claim was bound to create a stir and it did. Eventually, ICC released an official statement in BCCI’s favour.
While the global body denied the Indian cricket board of charges around using power to favour their team, readers must note that it is nowhere mentioned in either the laws or the playing conditions of the tournament that a fresh pitch has to be used during the knockout stage. In fact, a pitch curator (or local administration) of the concerned venue has the power to zero in on a pitch before any match. Hosted by Australia, both the semi-finals of ICC T20 World Cup 2022 were played on used pitches.
It is worth of a mention that any pitch which comprised room for 724 runs could’ve never been on the “slower side”. As a matter of fact, it had absolutely no demons for any kind of batter or no benefits for any bowler.
Overseas media overreacting to anything related to Indian cricket isn’t novel anymore. Lately, pitches for India’s home Test matches have also been on the radar of the foreign media. While none bats an eye when absolutely green tracks are prepared in England or Australia, a rank-turner in India faces purposeless criticism more often than not.
Angry Sunil Gavaskar Slammed Wankhede Pitch Critics
Not known for mincing his words, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar didn’t practice restraint in slamming critics of the Wankhede pitch last night. Speaking in a post-match conversation for host broadcaster Star Sports Network, Gavaskar used words such as “rubbish” and “morons” to throw light on the baseless criticism made earlier in the day.
As per Gavaskar, those reporters aimed at enticing eyeballs by portraying Indian cricket in a bad light. Since a pitch is finalized before the toss and both teams get a fair chance to put on display their skill on it, there can never be an added advantage for one particular team.
“All those morons who have been saying that the pitch has been charged to favour the Indian spinners, I hope they just shut up, stop taking potshots at India just because it helps you to get whatever eyeballs. It’s nonsense,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
The former Indian captain instead termed it as a “fantastic pitch” where batters of the team enjoyed their time in the middle. If truth be told, Gavaskar wasn’t wrong in expressing anger as these kinds of allegations have happened in the past as well.
