Former cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara has advocated for more bowler-friendly pitches in India because he feels that playing on flat decks at home is making it harder for Indian hitters to adjust to seaming conditions in nations like England.
After being defeated 0-2 by lower-ranked Ireland in Belfast, Indian batsmen battled with bounce and movement and lost a T20I series to England 0-4. After arriving in the UK following an IPL season that was characterized by high-scoring games, the Indian hitters were not lacking in form, but they found it difficult to adjust to a new environment.
Pujara thinks it may be prevented by just making sure that the pitches available here have a better bat-ball balance.
“Even in the IPL, you don’t want matches where teams can easily chase 260. There has to be something for the bowlers,” PTI quoted Pujara as saying on JioHotstar.
“In T20 cricket, the margin for error is already very small, especially on flat pitches with short boundaries, while batters continue to get stronger and more innovative. That’s why it’s important to have pitches that offer bowlers a little assistance, whether through some turn or a bit of movement in the first two or three overs.”
Pujara also noted that despite their IPL successes, the Indian T20 batting group has very little white-ball experience in English conditions.
“In England, you can’t rely only on six-hitting. You need to play more flat-batted shots, access straight boundaries and use options like the upper cut and cuts over point against the short ball. We didn’t see enough of those shots, and I think that was largely down to a lack of experience in these conditions,” he said.
In the ODI series against England on Tuesday, the visitors bounced back to win handily by six wickets.
The return of heavyweights Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah strengthened the ODI lineup, which is captained by Shubman Gill.
According to Pujara, the return of Rohit and Virat in particular gives the team much-needed confidence and poise.
“What Rohit and Virat will bring is calmness and confidence, and that only comes with experience. The T20I squad lacked experience, so having players who have consistently performed against England across Tests, ODIs and T20Is will give the dressing room belief because they know how to win,” he said.
