The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 between India and Australia has not even started yet, but before that the controversy over the pitch has already started. The first match of this four-match Test series is to be played from 9 February at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur. Whenever a Test series is played in India, the debate about the pitch starts well in advance. England and Australia are the two countries that complain the most about spin pitches. Former Team India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has given a strong reaction to the Australian media and former cricketers crying over the pitch.

Only last month, former Australian cricketer Ian Healy had said, “If India make a meaningless pitch like in 2017, Australia will never win this Test series.” Since then, the Australian media and some former cricketers have targeted the Indian team regarding the pitch. Gavaskar seems to have not liked this thing at all. Reacting strongly to this, Gavaskar said that Australia has no right to cry like this.

Gavaskar wrote in his column in Mid-day, ‘Australia started playing mindgames and started arguing about the pitch. He talked about the kind of pitches we made on the last tour. The match against South Africa in Brisbane was finished by Australia in two days. The point here is not just that the match got over in two days, but the kind of pitch that was prepared. The way the ball was bouncing here and there, it was dangerous for the life and limb of the players. On the other hand, on spin pitches, only the reputation of the batsman is at stake, not the life and limb of the players.

A total of 143 overs were played in the Brisbane Test match. South Africa had scored 152 and 99, while Australia scored 218 and 35 for four. Gavaskar further wrote, ‘The Test match that ended in two days in Brisbane showed that even the best of the best batsmen of both the teams had lost their hearts. Some people in the Australian media then said that it is a batsman’s game, so the bowlers get some chances on such pitches. So if that’s the case, then why fuss over subcontinent pitches. Playing spin is nothing less than an ordeal for any batsman. Because it tests his footwork. That’s why in the subcontinent, batsmen who score centuries or make big scores are considered great batsmen.