Cheteshwar Pujara's Damning Verdict On India's 'Rank-Turner' Pitches, Makes Big WTC Revelation

Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who announced his retirement from all formats of the game last week, has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to deploy sporting pitches for home Tests. Speaking to India Today, Pujara suggested that spin-friendly tracks can often backfire, highlighting India's 0-3 loss at home to New Zealand last year. The 37-year-old also highlighted that the shock defeat to the Kiwis had a massive impact on India missing out on a third consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final berth.

"I thought it had a big impact on Indian batting and Test cricket as a whole. The reason those kinds of tracks were prepared was because of the World Test Championship, where teams wanted results from every game. But I don't think that was ideal for Test cricket," said Pujara.

Pujara also insisted that when Test pitches offer significant spin and turn from Day 1, the batters are forced to rely on luck rather than skill. 

"Going forward, I'm sure the management and everyone involved has realized that when you prepare such surfaces, a batter needs a lot of luck to score runs. Your skills often get taken out of the game, and you're forced to play bravely, looking to score quick 40s, 50s, or 60s-whatever you can manage," he added.

Pujara further insisted it's time for the BCCI to take inspiration from other Test playing nations and deploy pitches where there is an equal contest between bat and ball.

"I think things are changing now. Most teams are playing on better pitches, and I hope India also continues to do so. I'm not saying the ball shouldn't turn-it should-but matches shouldn't finish in three or three-and-a-half days. Ideally, we should be playing on good pitches where games last into the fourth or fifth day," Pujara highlighted.

For the record, out of 108 wickets that fell across the India vs New Zealand, 81 went to spinners. Kiwi spinner Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner decimated the Indian batters, while Washington Sundar was the pick of the bowlers for India.

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