The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has been a topic of discussion since batsmen from both India and England struggled on the spinning surface. The venue which hosted the third Day/Night Test match saw England post totals of 112 and 81, while India were all out for 145 in their first innings.
From the 20 England wickets, 19 fell to R Ashwin, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar combined. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel picked up 11 wickets in the match, while Ashwin had seven scalps.
While the talk continues to be around the pitch, former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin said he has some ideas that can help batsmen on surfaces such as the Motera pitch.
"It was disappointing to watch the batsmen come a cropper in the Ahmedabad Test. The key to batting on such dry tracks and rank turners is shot-selection and assured footwork. It makes little sense to wear spikes when batting. Rubber soles don't hamper the ability of batsmen," Azharuddin tweeted.
The former batsman, who has played 99 Tests for India between 1984 and 2000, said batting with rubber shoes does not have serious implications as many might think.
He also gave examples of some of the batsmen from around the world who played important and memorable knocks without batting with spikes on their shoes.
"I have seen some amazing Test knocks being played on tough surfaces by batsmen who wore shoes with rubber soles. The argument that batsmen can slip when running between wickets is countered by the fact that in Wimbledon, all tennis players wear shoes with rubber soles," Azharuddin added.
"And the ones that come to mind are not just Indians like Sunil Gavaskar Mohinder Amarnath and Dilip Vengsarkar but also many a visiting batsman like Sir Vivian Richards, Mike Gatting, Allan Border, Clive Lloyd and several others."
