Australian cricket legends have expressed concerns over the Nagpur pitch which will host the first Test match between India and Australia on Thursday. A photo shared on social media showed the curators at Nagpur preparing the pitch in a manner that seems to make life difficult for Australia’s left-handers, with the possibility of six of the top eight batsmen being lefties including David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey, and Mitchell Starc. India, on the other hand, is expected to have only two left-handers in their top eight, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.
Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie stated that the Indian curators are trying to get an advantage by curating a pitch that will play to their strength. He believes that India is looking to play spin to their advantage and beat Australia. He added that curators in Australia are instructed to produce the best possible pitch for cricket.
Simon O’Donnell has called for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to intervene in the preparation of the pitch and address these issues with Indian pitches. He stated that the ICC should step in if they believe the pitch is not suitable for Test cricket and does not conform to the normal standards of the ground. He added that although there have been many discussions about these issues in the past, nothing seems to have been done, and the ICC needs to take action if they think the pitch does not meet the standards.
In conclusion, the Australian cricket legends have raised concerns over the Nagpur pitch ahead of the first Test match between India and Australia. They believe that India is trying to get an advantage by curating a pitch that will play to their strength, and they have called for the ICC to intervene. The four-match Test series between India and Australia will be a challenging one, with the visitors not having won a series in India since 2001.
