Ever since the Indian cricket team thrashed England by 10 wickets within two days in the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, a widespread debate on the pitch has been going on in the cricket fraternity. Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, who has been expressing his disappointment with the pitch for quite some time, has now slammed the International Cricket Council for allowing the BCCI to get away with poor pitches.
England’s batsmen looked lost on the pitch, which was offering unpredictable turn. Though the visitors won the toss however failed to make the most of it and were all bundled up for just 112 runs. Later, they tried to make a comeback by bowling out India for just 145 runs, however, they once again displayed their poor batting performances in the second innings as they were bundled up for a humiliating 81 runs before chasing down 49 runs to register the famous win.
The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Kevin Pietersen, Michael Vaughan, Alastair Cook, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, England’s skipper Joe Root and Indian skipper Virat Kohli gave their opinions on the surface in the pink-ball Test match.
Now, as the debate over the pitch continues, Michael Vaughan has come down hard on the ICC for not taking any action against India. In his column for the Daily Telegraph, he stated that the ICC will look ‘toothless’ till the time it allows ‘powerful countries’ like India to ‘produce whatever they wish’. He said:
“The longer powerful countries like India are allowed to get away with it the more toothless the ICC will look. The governing body is allowing India to produce whatever they wish and it is Test cricket that is getting hurt,”
He added:
“Perhaps it will take broadcasters to ask for refunds for things to change. They accept Test finishing early because the players are not good enough, but not when home boards produce such poor pitches. They are left with three blank days, but are still having to pay for production. They will not be happy and might think twice about good money for Test rights,”
Furthermore, he also called India’s victory in the third match a ‘shallow victory’. But he also went on to praise the Indian cricket team for showing their skills.
