T20 World Cup 2021: Quality Of Pitches Is Definitely Going To Be Far Better Than IPL - Virat Kohli
Published - 23 Oct 2021, 09:17 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:59 AM
India captain Virat Kohli is expecting the quality of pitches in the T20 World Cup to be “far better” than the ones used in most parts of the UAE leg of IPL 2021.
India take on Pakistan on Sunday evening in Dubai, the same venue where CSK put on 192 to win the IPL final. While the second chunk of matches in the IPL saw plenty of low and middling scores, the playoff matches were comparatively high-scoring.
Highlighting the same, Virat Kohli asserted that with the ICC looking over the pitches for the World Cup, one would expect better playing surfaces in the showpiece event.
“Looking at the IPL finals, I believe the quality of pitches is definitely going to be far better in this T20 World Cup,” Virat Kohli said on Saturday.
“Also it being an ICC tournament, we know that the standard of pitches has to be maintained to a certain degree, which is consistent across all venues. I understand that to protect the pitches for a tournament like the World Cup, there had to be some kind of compromise in terms of the playing conditions when we played the IPL. So, we all understood that the wicket in the IPL finals was very, very good,” he added.
I think the dew factor is becoming prominent: Virat Kohli
Another aspect which the teams would be needed to tackle is the dew, which Virat Kohli said will make its presence felt as the tournament progresses.
The 32-year-old reckoned that Abu Dhabi and Dubai will be good surfaces for batting while the relaid Sharjah pitch is going to be tough.
“I think the dew factor is becoming prominent as we head into this time of the year in Dubai and that is also going to help the pitches play much better. I presume Abu Dhabi and Dubai are probably going to be the best pitches out of all the venues. Sharjah, more or less, will stay true to its true nature, which is slow and low. I don’t see many high-scoring [matches] unless dew becomes such a massive factor there as well,” the Indian skipper added.
India will take on Pakistan in their opening encounter on Sunday. They will then meet New Zealand, Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia in the Super 12.
