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Cricket Players'If Ahmedabad pitch is raging turner...': Gavaskar's bold India prediction; takes shocking U-turn on 'ICC-Gabba' remark
Sunil Gavaskar took a shock U-turn on his ‘ICC-Gabba’ statement while making a bold prediction on the fourth Test match slated to held in Ahmedabad next week.
India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar remained the only person who was against ICC verdict of the Indore pitch where Australia emerged as winners with a nine-wicket victory in a match that lasted only seven sessions. The track was deemed "poor" and slapped with three demerit points. Gavaskar reacted by giving a reminder of the Gabba pitch where a match between Australia and South Africa lasted just two days. But the former India cricketer took a shock U-turn on his statement before making a bold prediction on the fourth Test match slated to held in Ahmedabad next week.
"One thing I would like to know, there was this Test match in November in Brisbane Gabba, where the match finished in 2 days. How many demerit points did that pitch get and who was the match referee there? I think 3 demerit points is a little harsh," Gavaskar had previously said in reaction to ICC's statement.
However, Gavaskar later admitted that Indore-like pitches takes away the contest between bat and ball and hence is not a great idea.
"I think there has to be a little more thought on that. This pitch has backfired in 2012-13 when Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar spun England to a win. I don’t think it’s a great idea to have pitches of this quality," Gavaskar told India Today. "You want to have pitches where there is a good balance between bat and ball. You want to have a pitch where for the first couple of days, the new-ball bowlers can get some help and the batters can play through the line and score runs. And then from Day 3 and 4, the ball is going to turn a little bit."
Speaking on the fourth and final Test match in Ahmedabad, Gavaskar feels that if it tends to be another raging turner, India are likely to bounce back and claim the trophy and their place in the WTC final, but at the cost of getting demerit points.
"I don’t know what’s going to happen in Ahmedabad. If the pitch in Ahmedabad is a raging turner, then India might go on to win but once again the pitch might get demerit points," he added.
According to a report in PTI, the Gujarat Cricket Association have not received any instruction from the Indian team on the track for the fourth Test and a in a bid to avoid furore like Indore, they are aiming to make a "normal track".
