Kotla pitch unfit for international matches: Harbhajan

Jalandhar:

Endorsing his India team-mate Gautam Gambhir's view that the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch was not suitable for international matches, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday said practice games should have been held on the wicket before the one-dayer against Sri Lanka.

Asked his comments on the pitch fiasco which led to the abandonment of the India-Sri Lanka fifth ODI on Sunday, Harbhajan said there was something wrong with the Kotla surface and it could have been dangerous for even Indian players if the home side had batted first.

"The pitch was behaving in surprising manner and Sri Lankan players got injuries due to fault of the pitch. The decision to call off the match was right," Harbhajan, who was here to witness the cricket tournament in the name of his father Sardev Singh at Burlton Park Stadium, said.

"It is always better to hold some practice matches on any new pitch, instead of directly going for international matches," he said.

Harbhajan said the youngsters in the Indian team have performed well whenever they got chances and that will serve India well in the 2011 World Cup.

"The newcomers have performed well. By the time of World Cup they will attain experience as well and ultimately prove to be an asset to the team," he said.

Asked about his desire of becoming the vice-captain of Indian team given that he is one of the seniormost players in the side, Harbhajan said he was ready to accept any responsibility.

Harbhajan said he wanted to contribute for the team with the bat also but he has been lacking in consistency as a batsman.

"For establishing as an all-rounder, consistency in batting is needed, which is lacking in me. But I will try my best to improve by batting also," he said.

On the bowlers givi9ng away runs in the just-concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka, Harbhajan said on batting pitches, batsmen would score quick runs even in Test matches.

"Even in Test matches in Ahmedabad and Kanpur, almost 2000 runs were scored during the whole match and there was nothing much for bowlers to do in such batting pitches."