"Good that he did not play" - Kris Srikkanth relieved to see KL Rahul out of Indore Test due to spiteful pitch
Former Team India chief selector Kris Srikkanth was relieved to see KL Rahul miss the third Test against Australia, given the spiteful nature of the Indore track. The 63-year-old felt the right-hander's Test career might have ended had he played and failed in the game.
After failures in consecutive Tests, the management dropped KL Rahul for the third game in Indore and drafted in Shubman Gill. However, Gill didn't make much of an impression in Indore as he fell cheaply to spinners in both innings.
Shubman Gill needs to buckle up 🤯
#ShubmanGill #India #BGT https://t.co/9bDV3Kmitw
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth stated:
"First and foremost, I am happy for KL Rahul. Thankfully, good that he did not play. If he had played on these wickets and failed to get going in the next two Tests, and if his career had ended... thank god, he didn't play. Frankly, speaking."
The former opening batter reckons that any batter will struggle to score runs and that wickets come much too easily for the bowlers on such tracks. He continued:
"On these pitches, batting is very difficult. Whoever it is, batting is difficult. Let it be anybody, be it Virat Kohli, no one can score runs on these pitches. If you looked at it, Kuhnemann, bowling in the first innings, got the ball to rip through and turn square.
"On these wickets, taking wickets is not a big thing. Even if I had bowled, I would have picked up wickets. These are all hard talks, we have to accept them."
The ICC has also rated the Indore pitch as poor. Match referee Chris Broad stated that the track failed to provide a fair contest between bat and ball and handed three demerit points to the venue.
"Not a good advertisement for Test cricket" - Kris Srikkanth
Srikkanth also recalled how India beat 2-0 in the 2008 series at home and stated that the poor pitches were a bad advertisement for Test cricket. He added:
"Not a good advertisement for Test cricket at all. They are doing a mistake. Yes, if you see the 2008 series against Australia. The pitches weren't rank turners but India would win the series 2-0.
"But here, the ball is turning square from Day 1. It's hard to watch the batting on these pitches. It's not a good advertisement for Test cricket."
The rating is in for the Indore pitch for the third #INDvAUS Test 👀
#WTC23 | Details 👇
bit.ly/41GgcKV
After two and a half days, Australia came out on top by nine wickets, mainly thanks to their bowling performance. All eyes will be on what type of wicket Ahmedabad produces for the fourth and final Test, which starts on March 9.