Team India will return to Red-Ball action on February 9, when the side will take on Australia in the first Test of the four-match series. However, with less than a week left for the series to begin, 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 said.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, however, reacted strongly to Healy’s comments and said, “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.
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“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.