Indore turner raises the question: ICC curators for Tests in WTC cycle?

After India were shot out for 109 on a rank turner on Day 1, BCCI's former chief curator agreed neutral curators would ensure a pitch better those dished out for this Australia series.

At 11:30 AM on Wednesday, the players had just headed back to their dressing rooms for lunch when coach Rahul Dravid strode to the middle with purpose. He had a long and hard look at the pitch, closely examining the demons that had caused his team to lose seven wickets within the first two hours on Day 1. India went on to be dismissed for 109 in 33.2 overs shortly after the lunch break, their fifth shortest innings at home while losing all ten wickets.

An aerial view of the stadium during the first day of third cricket Test match between India and Australia in Indore (AP)

It is the sort of collapse that India were always prone to once you decide to play on surfaces inclined to spin as prodigiously as the one in Indore. India skipper Rohit Sharma was mindful of it even on the eve of the third Test.

“On pitches like this, you are never in. A collapse can happen to us as well, not just them,” he had said on Tuesday.

At the Holkar Stadium on Wednesday, some balls were exploding from a length, taking bits of the surface along, while a few deliveries were keeping extremely low. It makes life as a batter incredibly difficult. While bowlers having a bit of an edge tends to make Test cricket a compelling watch, especially when the balance in the shorter formats is so heavily skewed towards batters, there was perhaps too much of a tilt in the bowlers’ favour on Day 1 of the Indore Test.

Despite the vexing position that India find themselves in, they don’t seem to be complaining. “The thing is we do prefer playing on turning tracks. That is our strength. That is where we are really good as a team,” India batting coach Vikram Rathour said.

With these Tests being played as part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle though, it is probably worth asking: should the International Cricket Council (ICC) take the preparation of the pitch out of the home team’s hand for a more even contest between bat and ball? In ICC white-ball events, after all, it is neutral curators who have the final say on how a surface behaves.

“I won’t be able to comment on that. The ICC need to decide how they want to go about it. Since the World Test Championship has started, there is more pressure on you to win home games. You want to win when you are playing at home,” said Rathour.

'ICC can step in'

Former BCCI chief curator Daljit Singh, who retired in 2019 after 22 years of overseeing pitch preparation, backed the idea of ICC bringing in neutral curators for Tests under the WTC cycle.

“Things will be better definitely with neutral curators. The ICC has no shortage of funds. They can easily ensure that neutral curators monitor the preparation of pitches,” he said.

“The Indore pitch is no different from the other pitches that are being produced. India have collapsed today. So, there may be more talk than when the Australians were collapsing. In the name of home advantage, these pitches are being produced,” he said.

With another three-day Test on the cards in Indore, the surface may invite the ire of ICC. The surfaces in Nagpur and Delhi were rated ‘average’ by the game’s governing body.

The octogenarian sympathises with the young curators at work these days. “The curator in the end becomes the fall guy. There are instructions from the top always. The curator doesn’t have the freedom to do what he wants. If it is five-day cricket, you should have pitches that can last five days.”

It is important to add that home advantage is clearly at play not just in India alone. In December, for instance, Australia dished out a green top for South Africa at the Gabba in Brisbane and cruised home by six wickets inside two days.

After the second WTC cycle comes to a conclusion with the final in June, it is perhaps something for the ICC to ponder.