Before the five-match Test series between India and England, former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has advised not to prepare excessively spin-friendly pitches for the upcoming Test series. He says that this idea might backfire for Rohit Sharma and company.
It remains to be seen whether India will continue the trend of preparing turning pitches, especially after recent discussions about the potential drawbacks of creating excessively spin-friendly conditions.
While having a conversation on his official YouTube channel, Chopra expressed his disapproval of India preparing rank turners.
“The match has a few big threads. The biggest threat is how the pitch should be. Should rank turners be made? I am saying and have been saying for a long time – you lost the World Cup final also due to your obsession with the pitch. Preparing a pitch favoring you costs you the finals.”
The former Indian opener added that curators should only be instructed to prepare result-oriented pitches.
“You might say this is a different format. It’s not about the format but the habit. You become complacent. Just give one instruction to the curator – make a pitch that yields a result. It shouldn’t be a road-like pitch.”
Chopra claimed that regardless of the pitch, India is the superior team when assessed on a man-to-man basis. He added that any pitch prepared in India would eventually favor the spin bowlers.
