In a recent video on his YouTube channel, former chief selector Kris Srikkanth shared his relief that KL Rahul did not play in the third Test against Australia in Indore due to the challenging pitch conditions. Despite the management dropping Rahul and bringing in Shubman Gill, the latter didn’t perform well in Indore and fell cheaply to spinners in both innings. Srikkanth believed that if Rahul had played and failed, it could have potentially ended his Test career. He said:
“First and foremost, I am happy for KL Rahul. Thankfully, good that he did not play. If he had played on these wickets and failed to get going in the next two Tests, and if his career had ended… thank god, he didn’t play. Frankly, speaking.”
According to the former opening batter, batting on such tracks is incredibly challenging, and even the likes of Virat Kohli would struggle to score runs. He explained that the bowlers have an advantage as wickets come too quickly on such pitches, and even Kuhnemann managed to get the ball to turn square in the first innings. The ICC has also deemed the Indore pitch poor, with match referee Chris Broad stating that it did not offer a fair balance between bat and ball. As a result, Broad gave the venue three demerit points.
“Not a good advertisement for Test cricket” – Kris Srikkanth
In addition, Srikkanth recalled India’s 2-0 victory at home in the 2008 series and said that the poor pitches reflected poorly on Test cricket. He added:
“Not a good advertisement for Test cricket at all. They are making a mistake. Yes, if you see the 2008 series against Australia. The pitches weren’t rank turners, but India would win the series 2-0.
“But here, the ball is turning square from Day 1. It takes a lot of work to watch the batting on these pitches. It’s not a good advertisement for Test cricket.”