Jonty Rhodes sides with Australia's 'no-tour match' policy

Australian cricket team in action (Source: Associated Press)

It could not have been a more fierce lead-up to the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy with the pitches in India being the controversial subject.

While Ian Healy, an Australian former cricketer, has predicted the series-win in favour of the visitors if India produce 'fair' pitches, Steve Smith cited the practice match on their last Test visit of India is the reason the team decided against playing a tour game this time around.

As per Smith, Australia played on a pace-friendly wicket in the practice match, calling it 'irrelevant' as the conditions during the series were totally opposite of it. 

With the cricketing ambit divided on Smith's statement, Jonty Rhodes defended the Australian veteran as he believes that the Kangaroos' no-tour game policy is a smart move. 

"I've seen the practice pitches in India and it has a lot of footmarks. The main pitch is used for training purpose. These days all the teams play a lot of cricket and turning tracks are not limited to India. It is important how much time you spend there and how much you prepare, this helps you adapt to the conditions," Rhodes said in an interview to Dainik Jagran.

"I understand what (Steve) Smith wanted to say. He knows the practice pitches will be greener and match will be played on the training pitch and Australia took a very smart decision. Players are playing all around the world and they have evolved into smart cricketers."

The highly-anticipated Test series between India and Australia will start from February 9 at Nagpur.

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