After slamming the Chepauk pitch, many former English players started slamming the Motera pitch after the third Test between India and England finished in under two days.
The completion of a five-day game finishing in two days led to the debate about what a 'good' cricket pitch is. The pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad spun from Day 1 and batsmen from both teams faced the blunt.
However, a slew of former England captains as well as cricket commentators from around the world said the pitch was not good enough for Test match cricket. As soon as these comments were out, India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that talks regarding the pitch are getting out of hand.
Former India international Wasim Jaffer, who is known for his witty tweets, took to Twitter to endorse Ashwin's views and wrote, "@ashwinravi99 taking English wickets both on and off the field."
As for Ashwin, he replied to an ANI query during a virtual press conference on Saturday and said, "I think I have said that in the past as well, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I am not here to say that your opinion is right and it is wrong. The fact remains that the talk about the surface is getting out of hand. Why would you talk about the surface and sell that to us time and time again? Is there any instance where the pitch has been talked about this much when we have played games in other countries?
I somehow find it funny that when they speak about the surface, it immediately gets quoted all over in our press and this is the issue here. There have been instances, we have been to New Zealand, where both the Tests got over in a total of five days. There is a video doing the rounds where Virat Kohli is talking in South Africa and he says I am not here to talk about the pitch. That is how we have been taught to play cricket, that`s why I say let them sell thoughts, buying is our choice," he added.
Further giving his take on the pitch debate, Ashwin said: "The bowler wins the game, the batsmen need to bat well to score runs. Who defines what a good surface is? The seam on the first day, then bat well in the next couple of days and spin on the last two days, come on, who makes these rules? We need to get over it and if you are asking whether the pitch in the third Test was a good surface, I do not see any players of England coming out and complaining. You should be hoping for a good cricket match, not the surface."
