With all three Test matches in the present Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India ending in three days, the pitches have consistently dominated headlines. The International Cricket Council (ICC) labelled the pitch at Indore as “bad,” and it even gave it three penalty points, which only made the criticism worse. The increasing use of spin-friendly pitches in the series has alarmed former India selector Saba Karim, who even questioned the strategy’s relevance to the spirit of the game. In a recent conversation, he bemoaned the Indore pitch’s lack of assistance for batsmen and asserted that both players and spectators would enjoy an even match.
“Australia have Steve Smith and India have Virat Kohli, arguably the top two batters in world cricket. But we haven’t gotten to see their batting in this series. What are we trying to prove by making such wickets?” he told India News at the end of Day 2 play in the Indore Test. “In our desperation to qualify for the WTC final, we have lost the spirit of Test cricket. We have No.1 and No.2 teams competing here. It would have been a joy to watch them play if the contest was between all aspects of Test cricket,” the former India selector explained when asked about the controversy.