‘There is no need for India to prepare such wickets’ - Shoaib Akhtar shares his opinion on the Ahmedabad pitch

The pitch that was used for the third Test match between India and England continues to remain in the spotlight. A lot of back-and-forth battles among former and current cricketers regarding the pitch have been going on and the talk about the pitch has even overshadowed the performances of the players on the field.

Now, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar had his take on the issue. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ was of the opinion that the pitch was not an ideal one for Test cricket. Akhtar stated that a Test match that gets over within 2 days and a pitch that offers an unreasonable turn is not good for the health of the longest format of the game.

Akhtar also added that India have used the concept of home advantage ‘too much’ and stated that if the Indian side had scored 400 and then bowled England out for 200, then it was right to say that England batted poorly. But then, Akhtar said that even the Indian side was bowled out for just 145.

“Should Test matches be played on such wickets? Not at all. A pitch where there is so much unreasonable turn, that a match gets finished in two days, is not good for Test cricket. I understand the concept of home advantage but this sort of advantage I believe is a little too much. If India had scored 400 runs and England got out for 200, then one could say that England played poorly. But here, even India was shot out for 145,” opined Akhtar on his YouTube channel.

I thought India is a better team than this, says Shoaib Akhtar

Akhtar also said that he thought that India are a much better side, and added that if India play ‘fair’, they can still beat England. The 45-year-old also added that India don’t need to be scared and prepare such wickets. The former pacer gave the example of India winning the Test match at Melbourne last year and said that even though the pitches in Australia were not in their favor, the Indian side still emerged triumphant. He concluded by stating that the matches should take place on fair grounds and fair conditions.

“I thought India is a bigger, better team than this. There should be fair play and fair pitches where I think India can still beat England. They don’t need to be scared. There is no need for India to prepare such wickets. Did we make the wicket in favor of India in Adelaide? Was the wicket in Melbourne made in favour of India? How did they win the series there? You play on fair ground, fair conditions, and say ‘Look, we can play well at home and abroad,” concluded the former Pakistan speedster.

The pitch for the 4th Test match between India and England will garner a lot of attention. It remains to be seen if the pitch will aid turn, or if a ‘fair’ pitch would be laid out for the teams.