IND vs NZ: Rahul Dravid Fumes At ICC For Rating Chennai And Ahmedabad Pitches As "Average"

India head coach Rahul Dravid wasn’t happy after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rated pitches in Chennai and Ahmedabad as average. Chepauk pitch and Narendra Modi Stadium’s pitch for India vs Australia and India vs Pakistan during the ICC World Cup 2023 got poor ratings.

Rahul Dravid pointed out that if bowlers are on the top of the game the pitches are rated average, which isn’t good as bowlers are left nowhere. He added that if pitches are getting ratings like these then only T20s should be played.

Rahul Dravid urging a better way to rate pitches said that conditions around India will be different and teams that will deal with different challenges will win. Speaking during the press conference, he explained:

“If you want to only see 350-run matches and rate only those pitches as good, then I disagree with that. There are skills on display on 350 wickets also. That’s fine on that particular day. But in the first few games when it spins a little bit or something happens that brings the bowlers into the game, and you start rating pitches as average, where does it leave the bowlers? Why are they coming then? Play two T20 matches then.

“We need to have a better way of deciding what is good or average. You have to see different skills on display as well. If you wanted to only see fours and sixes being hit, then we have T20 for that. Why do we need anything else?”

“I just want to see some variety. There will be some good wickets and games that are high-scoring. And there will be other games where the ball turns, and others where it seams a little bit. You’ve got a long tournament, and you’re playing in India in different parts of the country. There will be different wickets and different challenges. Teams that are able to cope with all those challenges are the ones that will end up being successful.”

In the game against Australia, the Men in Blue bundled out five-time champions for 199 and then in Ahmedabad, they rattled Pakistan for 191 runs. Both the pitches were rated “average” by the ICC.

IND vs NZ: There are different skills involved in one-day cricket – Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid further said that ODI cricket requires skills and players need to adapt to that. He cited examples of Adam Zampa, Mitchell Santner and Ravindra Jadeja, highlighting their quality. He added that if ICC wants to create pitches where spinners bowl at a rate of 10, he disagrees with that. He explained:

“We played in good wickets as well in Delhi and Pune, which were 350 wickets. There are different skills involved in one-day cricket, like the skill of rotating the strike, being able to play spin well. See the quality of watching a Ravindra Jadeja bowl, or a Mitchell Santner bowl, or an Adam Zampa bowl.

“Or watching Kane Williamson rotate the strike through the middle, and Virat Kohli and KL Rahul the way they batted against Australia. Those are skills as well. If you want a spinner to come in and bowl 10 overs for 60 and go, and one ball spins or two balls spin, and you rate that as average – I disagree with that.”

Rahul Dravid will be next seen when India take on New Zealand on Sunday (22nd October) in Dharamsala.