IND vs ENG | ICC should take an action on BCCI for preparing such a wicket, opines Inzamam ul Haq

The conditions and the pitch on offer in Ahmedabad for the third Test haven’t left a lot of critics pleased, with the game getting wrapped up in under two days, with both sides failing to battle the wicket. While some have critiqued about it in the last few days, some former cricketers have expressed their belief that the ICC should take an action on the BCCI for preparing such a wicket, in a highly-anticipated series. 

Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq is amongst them, with the former batsman stating that ICC should take an action on the Indian cricketing board for preparing such a wicket, where the game was done in two days. He also compared the Test scoreboard to the T20 encounters, insisting that the 20-over games have better scoreboards.

"Even scorecards in T20 matches read better than the one we saw in Ahmedabad. The ICC should take action on this. What sort of wickets are these that a Test match cannot even last two entire days? 17 wickets falling in less than one day… what are we playing on here? Sure, you take home advantage, spinning tracks should be made, but this sort of pitch I don't think should exist," Inzamam said on his YouTube channel, reported HT.

He also questioned whether such pitches should be part of Test matches while insisting that it is not the ‘right’ thing to do with cricket. While the pitch didn’t offer a substantial turn, it combined with the pink-ball certainly drove the batsmen mad, with their inability to play the curveball. 

“Did India play that well or was it the behaviour of the wicket? Should such wickets be part of Test matches? I thought India were playing some brilliant cricket. They beat Australia earlier and made a brilliant comeback in the second Test, but preparing such a wicket, I feel is not the right thing to do with cricket," he added.

The 51-year-old from Multan also stated that he wouldn’t praise Indian spinners - Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel - one bit after their exploits in Ahmedabad when Joe Root himself had picked up five wickets. 

"If Joe Root is picking up five wickets in six overs, you can imagine the condition of the wicket. Why should I praise R Ashwin and Axar Patel, when Root is picking up 5/8? Test matches have so many important elements, the venue, the ground, the umpire, referee, so a pitch should also hold some significance. Test match should look like a Test match,” he concluded.