Hey pitch 'experts'! Why the double standards?

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In what is fast becoming an alarming trend, the pitch at the Eden Gardens used for the match between India and Pakistan took some flack from some of the ‘experts’ and pundits on TV and other media and social networks.

Quite a few of the pitches used so far in the World T20 games have been criticised for not being up to the required standards. While it’s not right to take names, but those who are on twitter and follow these experts and pundits or have heard them on broadcast channels outside India, will know exactly who these people are. They have taken many shots at the pitches regularly during the course of the ICC World T20.

These experts want the pitches to be more batting friendly, and are unhappy with the kind of assistance spinners have gotten from some of the pitches.

During the Asia Cup, when the first few pitches were green and had offered a lot of help to the seam bowlers, MS Dhoni had said that these are not ideal pitches for T20 cricket and MS Dhoni had been criticised for that statement. Their argument at the time was that India are just averse to playing on green wickets, and that is why MS Dhoni wanted flat wickets or batting friendly wickets to be used. That way the Indian batsmen will be able to hide their inability to play the moving ball.

Yet those same experts and pundits are shamelessly calling for the use flat wickets in matches involving their teams so that their batsmen can hide their poor technique against spin on those flat wickets. It's very clear that there are double standards at play here.

Just imagine the reaction, if an Indian side touring (say) England or South Africa asked for flat wickets on the tour. All hell would break loose and the Indian side would be lambasted by the cricket pundits and experts in the foreign media for wanting things too easy.

When India tour outside the subcontinent, they struggle on seaming tracks, however, no one blames the pitches then, and these same experts say batting on such wickets is a test of technique and batsmen should see it as a challenge, etc. However when the foreign batsmen struggle on Indian spin-friendly wickets, the pitches suddenly become unplayable and unfit for cricket. Batting against spin is not seen to be a test of technique, and the pitches become unsuitable for cricket.

Often ridiculous amounts of seam movement or too much bounce on offer on some of the pitches outside the subcontinent is passed off as being normal, but an Indian pitch offering any amount of spin, even the slightest amount, that causes their batsmen discomfort is a pitch 'turning square', and must be toned down.

Batting friendly pitches not always the best

These double standards extend to flat wickets too. Let us take the example of the game between South Africa and England last night. No doubt it was a great game to watch (I don't think too many bowlers enjoyed it), and that pitch was hailed by the pundits as a great wicket for a cricket match.

Some years ago Australia had come to play in India and in the second ODI, batting first Australia scored 359 and India chased down the target. Granted this instance was in a 50 over game, but it's a very similar game to the one between South Africa and England. Did the pitch in India vs Australia get the same praise as the one between England and South Africa? Most definitely not.

That pitch used for the match between India and Australia was labeled all kinds of things, such as a road, a runway and what not. Experts questioned what was even the point of pitches like this on which bowlers have no help, and that pitches like these were killing cricket. However, the one used for England vs SA, on which a near identical match was played out, was hailed as the greatest pitch ever made.

India is in a thankless situation when it comes to pitches. When India have prepared flat wickets which offer plenty of runs for the batsmen, then also the pitches have been criticised and when the wicket offers help to spinners then also the pitches are criticised!

The common trend that appears to emerge is that If India does well on a pitch then it's either a flat track, a road or a pitch that is turning square, and not acceptable to experts. However if India doesn't do well on a wicket, then that wicket is perfect, and it’s the Indian batsmen who lack the skill and technique to play.

The double standard on pitches is deplorable and India needs to ignore all these biased pitch criticisms. While once or twice the criticism of a pitch may be justified, like it was for the match between India and New Zealand, it can’t be denied that there exists an ugly double standard when it comes to the subcontinent and especially Indian pitches. This mentality desperately needs to change, and the sooner it happens the better.