Legendary Australian cricketer Ian Chappell weighed in on the controversy surrounding the pitch and conditions in Indore during the third Test match between India and Australia. The match did not last more than seven sessions with 14 wickets falling on Day 1 and 16 wickets falling on Day 2 of the encounter. A lot was spoken over the pitch conditions and Chappell was of the opinion that the pitch should be left to the curator without any interference from administrators. In the aftermath of Day 1’s play, the former Australia skipper expressed his opinions about the ongoing topic.
“Should players and administrators be telling the curators how to prepare the pitch and what sort of pitch they want? It is the greatest bit of rubbish I have ever heard,” Chappell told ESPNCricinfo.
“The pitch should be left to the curator. The curator produces what he thinks is a good pitch, and then you as players get on and play on it. Once you have got the administrators and cricketers telling people what they think should the pitch be, then you are asking for trouble,” he added.
The Australian legend also lamented the fact that curators sometimes do not enjoy any freedom.
“If somebody says we want you to produce a turner, there is every chance it will turn out badly because as I say, no one can really predict – unless they are trying to prepare a good surface that suits everybody – then I think you are risking way too much. Any player or administrator who goes to a curator and asks for a certain type of pitch should be told to go and jump in the lake,” he added.
