Feroz Shah Kotla Track Will be a Good Cricketing Pitch, Insists Curator Daljit Singh
Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's pitches and grounds committee Daljit Singh said it's the players who decide the fate of the game and not the curator. The 73-year-old asserted that Feroz Shah Kotla track will be a "good cricketing pitch".
Livid with criticism that pitches for the series against South Africa are not sporting enough, chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's pitches and grounds committee Daljit Singh sought to downplay the hype surrounding the nature of turf, saying curator does not decide the result of the game. (Nothing Poor About India's Pitches: Livid Virat Kohli Takes a Dig at International Cricket Council)
"We always teach children that the curator does not decide result of the game. It is the players who decide it. How they adapt and use the conditions, it is up to them," the 73-year-old said.
He also said that there is nothing wrong with the bouncy and spinning nature of the tracks, as long as the pitch is not dangerous.
He asserted that the Kotla track in Delhi, where the fourth Test will be played, will be a "good cricketing pitch".
Singh further added in a lighter vein, "God willing, there should be no problem." (India Face ICC Sanction Over 'Poor' Nagpur Pitch)
Asked to comment on ICC reportedly rating Nagpur pitch as "poor", Singh said, "I have not seen the report. It is for the BCCI to respond, I am not (directly) in the picture. But when I am asked for my comments, I will give these to BCCI and it is for them to take appropriate action."
The Nagpur Test, like Mohali, finished within three days, with spinners doing the bulk of damage.
Further commenting on nature of pitches that are offered, Singh said, "Tell me which series there is no talk (on kind of pitches)." (Nagpur Pitch Rated Poor by ICC)
Singh, who has been looking after pitches in Mohali for close to 25 years, talked about the Ashes series, in which England won the last Trent Bridge Test by an innings and 78 runs against Australia.
Australia were bundled out for 60 in their first innings, with paceman Stuart Broad demolishing the visitors with an eight-wicket haul. (Ravichandran Ashwin's Twitter Jibe at Australian Pace Legend)
"The visiting team was bundled out for 60 and the match finished in two days," he said, indicating that at times when teams do not perform as per expectations, such discussions surrounding the pitch crop up.