Sunil Gavaskar Calls Out Double Standards in Pitch Criticism

Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the way cricket pitches are judged around the world. He pointed out that the recent Ashes Test in Perth ended in less than two days with 32 wickets falling, yet there was almost no criticism of the pitch.

He said the Perth surface had plenty of help for the fast bowlers, but no one questioned the curator or the conditions. He reminded fans that even last year, 17 wickets fell on Day One at the same venue when India played Australia, and again there was silence.

Gavaskar compared this reaction to what happens in India. He said pitches like the one at Eden Gardens face heavy scrutiny the moment they start turning. He felt that pitches helping fast bowlers are treated as normal, but pitches helping spinners face unfair blame.

He also spoke about the difference in how people describe conditions. In Australia, extra bounce is explained as natural. In India, turn is often treated as a problem. Gavaskar asked why bounce is acceptable but turn is not.

He added that Indian curators face questions very quickly, while curators in Australia rarely get criticised, even when matches finish early or batting collapses happen.

In his column, he said, “The Perth Test match has ended in less than two days with 32 wickets having fallen, including 19 on the first day, but as yet there’s not a word of criticism about the pitch there.” He also recalled last year’s Perth Test where “I can’t recall a critical word about the pitch, which had more grass on it than usual.”

Gavaskar also challenged the usual arguments used to defend such pitches. “The argument was ‘this is Perth, Australia, and you will get bounce’. Fine, but then when the pitch affords turn, why can’t it be accepted that this is India, and there will be turn?”

He said critics are quick to claim that batters cannot play fast bowling if they complain about bounce. He asked why no one says players cannot play spin when the ball turns in India.

Gavaskar went a step further and compared this to old views about umpiring. He said mistakes by foreign umpires were called human error, but mistakes by subcontinent umpires were treated as cheating. He wondered if the same bias exists for curators.

He praised former Indian cricketers who recently spoke up about the Perth Test. He ended by urging Indian players and fans to stop accepting unfair criticism. As he said, “It’s time to stop pointing fingers at Indian cricket as there are three of the same hand pointing back at you.”