Fair pitches can restore balance between bat and ball, opines Sachin Tendulkar
Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has voiced his disappointment about the game of cricket turning into a batting firepower showdown between sides and called for fair pitches to restore balance between bat-ball. Tendulkar also stressed the lack of quality bowlers that's causing this imbalance.
The game of cricket has turned into a total batting affair as the balance of bat and ball has degraded dramatically over time. There was a time when Test series were looked forward to for the rivalries it featured, but with time the trend has faded away, due to the dearth of healthy competition between the bat and ball, and so has the charm of Test cricket.
Former India skipper Sachin Tendulkar who voiced his concern over the degrading health of the longest format of the game has pointed out the lack of balance as the prime reason. Quality fast bowlers are hard to spot nowadays and the flat Test pitches in modern times are just juicing out the very essence of the game.
“Rivalries which people invariably looked forward to are no longer there because there are very few world-class fast bowlers right now. That element I am sure is missing. The quality of fast bowling can surely be better without any doubt,” Tendulkar told PTI.
“The standard of cricket has gone down which is not great news for Test cricket. The standard needs to go up and for that, I would again say that the root cause is the playing surfaces.
“I think it has also got to do with the kind of pitches that are provided. If we provide fair pitches where fast bowlers, as well as spinners, get help, then balance between bat and ball will be restored,” Tendulkar explained.
“If the balance is missing then the contest becomes weak and it fails to grab eyeballs. Test cricket must have good wickets.”
Tendulkar hailed the pitches in England which hosted the Ashes recently as the perfect pitches for Test cricket and it was quite evident from the series played out.
“I feel this year’s Ashes had some of the best Test pitches in recent times. Magnificent I would say. The only time they moved to Old Trafford, you saw that Test wasn’t as exciting as the ones at the Headingley, or the Lord’s Test or for that matter even the one at the Oval. I thought those Test matches were exciting,” he said.
Tendulkar also went on to question the use of Indian Premier League (IPL) as a platform to select players for the national side unless it's for the shortest format. But he also went on to mention exceptional talents like Jasprit Bumrah who could be an exception.
“I think if somebody has done well in the IPL, then he is fit to represent India in T20 Internationals. It is absolutely fair. But if somebody does well in the IPL and because of that performance he is picked for Tests and even ODIs, I think there would be a question mark.
“I don’t support that unless there is an exceptional talent, who can be good across formats. Jasprit Bumrah is one example. Otherwise normal players, if they do well in IPL, that performance should only be considered for T20 formats.”
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