Ravichandran Ashwin unhappy with SG balls
India’s leader in the spin department, Ravichandran Ashwin was critical of the SG ball during the second Test in Bengaluru as he said that the ball has been losing its shape and seam over the past 5 or 6 years, reports ESPNCricinfo.
CK Nandan, the reserve umpire, had to be on the ground for three times - twice in South Africa’s innings and once in India’s innings - when the umpires thought that the ball was not in the condition to carry on and called for its replacement.
SG Test match balls have been common in the domestic and Test matches in the subcontinent and players have had bad experiences in the past few years.
Ashwin said that the ball has been losing its shape quite a lot more as it would have 5 or 6 years back, Ashwin admitted that he would prefer a Kookaburra red ball more than an SG one.
“I don't want to pick on a brand and get into trouble, but I think the same ball that I bowled with, in first-class cricket, five-six years ago, it's not the same, there's definitely a lot of balls that are going out of shape.
“The arm ball… especially for a spinner, when you're trying to bowl an arm ball, the seam is not sitting high at all. So at this point of time, I seem to be enjoying the Kookaburra a lot more," said Ashwin.
The Indian spinner believes that the ball was going out of shape and also added that the seam wasn’t prominent enough for him as he is having a hard time to spin the ball through the air.
SG has been a favourite of spinners personally. It is known to have a better holding capacity and prominent seam than a Kookaburra, which is used in most of the other Test participating countries excluding England and West Indies.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been using the Australian manufacturer’s Kookaburra ball in the Duleep Trophy now so that the first-class cricketers tailor themselves for the international level.
With SG balls’ issues coming on the table towards the BCCI, they might be reconsidering the fact to call upon the Kookaburras for the home Test matches. This was a hot topic back in 2006 when the Indian cricket board thought of introducing Kookaburra’s red variant, but the decision was let down eventually due to high incurred costs.