Dale Steyn has clarified the situation and explained how things work when the pitches are allotted for the net sessions.
There has been ample chatter about the quality of practice pitches offered to the Indian team ahead of the Boxing Day Test. The reports about the team’s displeasure with low and slow surfaces have been aplenty since yesterday.
However, Dale Steyn has clarified the situation and explained how things work when the pitches are allotted for the net sessions. He elucidated that since Australia practised in the morning, they got fresh pitches, but they had their own challenges, while India got better conditions like flat pitches on Day 2.
“Context matters. Australia obviously practiced in the morning so they get the fresh pitches. India had the afternoon so they get the opposite end already set pitches, after their training the ground staff wet it to prep for the next day making it look less glamorous. Fresh pitches in the morning look pretty but come with their challenges, slow, spongy etc. India got the afternoon and better conditions (day 2 flat pitches) in my opinion. Teams agree to which session they want, sleep in or up early. Nothing to see here, just a typical training day conditions.”
Hopefully, this will end the controversy around the nature of pitches offered, and the focus should shift to the game now. There has been ample off-field drama leading up to the game, and things have heated up significantly.
The Indian captain Rohit Sharma attended a press conference earlier today, revealing the team got fresh wickets to practice today. He also accepted they were given used pitches in their previous two net sessions, which caused a few injury concerns.
Rohit Sharma took a blow on his knee but confirmed that he will be fine to feature in the game. Meanwhile, Akash Deep was also hit on his arms while batting, but he should be good to go.
The pitches in the previous two net sessions were reportedly designed to practice for white-ball games. The players in the Big Bash League will also train on the same surface.
The Indian team wouldn’t mind practising on fresh pitches two days before the match. It will help them prepare for any kind of track in Melbourne and acclimatise quickly since they also practised on low and slow surfaces in previous net sessions.
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