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“There’s not a word of criticism…”: Gavaskar blasts the bias as Perth collapse gets a free pass

Poulomi Chakraborty

Gavaskar shares his take on pitch debate (Source: @allnspirein/x.com, @RCBTweets/x.com)Gavaskar shares his take on pitch debate (Source: @allnspirein/x.com, @RCBTweets/x.com)

Test cricket’s future is suddenly under fire, with matches now racing like red-ball T20s. After the Kolkata Test ended within three days, the concerns peaked high after the first Test of the Ashes ended within just two days.

As the Eden Gardens Test ended abruptly, the entire world sparked a global pitch debate. And when Perth produced the same chaos a week later, Sunil Gavaskar slammed the hypocrisy in comparing subcontinental pitches with those in SENA countries.

Gavaskar blasts the double standards behind the ongoing pitch debate

The first Test of the ongoing series between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens witnessed an abrupt finish. After the match ended within just two and a half days, experts and former cricketers slammed the Kolkata surface. But a week later of the chaos, the momentum was recreated on the big stage of the Ashes in the Perth Test as the match ended within just two days.

In just six sessions, 32 wickets tumbled before the Aussies registered a dominating eight-wicket win while chasing down a 200+ total. After the cricket world remained silent after that, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar slammed the double standard. In his column in Mid-Day, Gavaskar questioned the hypocrisy.

“The Perth Test match has ended in less than two days with 32 wickets having fallen, including 19 on the first day, but as yet there’s not a word of criticism about the pitch there. Last year too, 17 wickets fell on Day One at Perth between India and Australia, and I can’t recall a critical word about the pitch, which had more grass on it than usual,” he said.

Why does the hypocrisy always target subcontinent pitches?

The debate regarding the pitches, especially in cricket, is not rare. But a clear difference can be seen in criticising the sub-continent pitches with the SENA countries. Citing the Sydney Test where 15 wickets fell on Day 1, Sunil Gavaskar demanded answers and called for consistency in the criticism.

“The same was in Sydney, where 15 wickets fell on Day One. The argument, as enumerated by the curator in Perth last year, was ‘this is Perth, Australia, and you will get bounce’. Fine, but then when the pitch affords turn, why can’t it be accepted that this is India, and there will be turn? If you complain about the bounce, then the counterargument is you can’t play fast bowling. Why is there never a counterargument that you can’t play spin bowling when the pitch affords turn in India?” he added.

He warned the world to stop pointing fingers at India when they are also suffering from the same syndrome. He said, “So guys, it’s time to stop pointing fingers at Indian cricket as there are three of the same hand pointing back at you.”

After the abrupt end of the Eden Gardens Test, the cricket world came together to criticize the surface. But when Perth produced the same shock finish, the outrage suddenly disappeared; only a few former Indian stars even dared to question the rapid collapse.