Team India will return to action in the longest format of the game on February 9, when the side takes on Australia in the first Test of the four-match series. The Indian team is currently second in the World Test Championship table and will be aiming to book a place in the final of the coveted tournament; Australia, meanwhile, are seated at the top spot comfortably. However, India have an upper hand against Australia as they meet Pat Cummins‘ men; the former have the home advantage, and the Aussies haven’t won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2014/15.
As the Aussies prepare for the challenge against India, former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Ian Healy came up with a rather controversial take on the nature of pitches in the country.
“I think if they produce fair Indian wickets, that are good batting wickets, to start with, (that) probably spin and spin pretty consistently but spin a long way, late in the match … we (Australia) win. I’m worried about (Mitchell) Starc and (Nathan) Lyon in the first Test … if they’re unfair wickets which I’ve seen in the last series, where balls were jumping ridiculously and sliding down low from day one, I think India play those conditions better than us,” Healy had said.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has now reacted strongly to Healy’s comments, saying that subcontinent teams don’t complain about “extra bounce” when they tour Australia, and that it is expected that the latter are fine with the pitches served in subcontinent as well.
“When subcontinent teams travel to Australia, they don’t complain about the pitches. They don’t say there’s extra bounce in Perth and that it’s unfair. There are different home conditions and you have to get used to those. Teams face difficulties in Perth, likewise they also face problems against spin. So, you shouldn’t talk about what’s fair or unfair. The pitch is giving results.
“Ye aadat bhi hai. Unko samajh naa aaye toh fair nahi hota (It’s their habit. If they can’t understand the pitch, they call it unfair),” Butt said on his official YouTube channel.
