Drop-in pitches for India series could be lively, suggests Sridharan Sriram
Sridharan Sriram has suggested that the lack of Australian Football due to the Covid-19 pandemic could in turn enable the drop-in pitches for the India series to be more lively. Sriram further shed light on the āteacher-discipleā relationship between Smith and Labuschagne he witnessed in the Ashes.
Concerns, criticism and arguments over ādrop-in pitchesā have continued to remain a topic of discussion in Australia, with many believing that drop-in wickets have contributed to the flatness and have also sometimes worked against the home side. Australian Football being played in prominent cricket stadiums, be it the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) or Adelaide Oval, have meant that states have resorted to the usage of ready-made drop-in pitches in order to shuffle between sports, making life easier for everyone.
However, former Indian cricketer Sridharan Sriram, who is now a part of Australiaās coaching staff, believes that things could be different when India tour Australia this time around. According to Sriram, the drop-in pitches this year could be a lot more livelier purely due to the lack of Australian Footballing action owing to the Covid-19 outbreak.
āThere has been very little Australian rules football played this season. So the drop in pitches in Melbourne and other places would be unspoilt, the grass would be fresh and the pitches could be lively,ā Sriram told Sportstar.
When India toured Australia in 2018, the Virat Kohli-led Indian side triumphed 2-1 over the Aussies to register their first Test series win Down Under and Sriram noted that reckless batting from the Aussies, which did not give their pacers enough time to recover, is what cost them the series.
āWe were getting bowled out in 70 odd overs and our pacemen did not get enough rest,ā Sriram observed.
Having closely worked with the Australian side now for over five years, Sriram has become an integral part of the Kangaroosā set-up and the very same was evident from āThe Testā documentary released earlier this year, where the Indian was seen giving a pep talk to the Aussies. Someone who was with the team throughout the entirety of the Ashes, Sriram noted the relationship between Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to be like āteacher and discipleā.Ā
āHis (Marnus) relationship with Smith was that of a teacher and disciple. They would go for breakfast together, practise together and hang out together,ā the 44-year-old said.