"Even I Would've Taken Wickets": 65-Year-Old Ex India Batter's Brutal Dig At Kolkata Pitch
Kris Srikkanth was extremely critical of the Eden Gardens pitch after India suffered a 30-run loss against South Africa in the first Test match.
- Former India batter Kris Srikkanth criticised the Eden Gardens pitch as a bad Test match wicket
- "Gautam Gambhir said after the match there were no demons in the wicket but it was a horrible one," he said
- "On this surface, even I would have taken wickets if I had bowled," the 1983 World Cup winner added
Former Indian cricket team batter Kris Srikkanth was extremely critical of the Eden Gardens pitch after India suffered a 30-run loss against South Africa in the first Test match on Sunday. Both teams were unable to post a 200-plus total in the match with South Africa clinching the win in under 3 days. There was a lot of chatter over the surface that provided uneven bounce to the bowlers and several ex-cricketers slammed the conditions as detrimental to the future of Test cricket. Srikkanth made it clear that it was a 'horrible' wicket and said that even he would have taken a wicket despite the fact that he had 0 wickets during his playing days.
“The wicket was a bad wicket. Gambhir said after the match that there were no demons in the wicket but come on, it was a horrible wicket. It was not a Test match wicket. If the game ends in 2.5 days, there's clearly something wrong with the wicket,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
“On these turning tracks, India have been on the backfoot. Look at the scores, 159, 189, 153, 93. Obviously, there's something wrong with the wicket. First day, Bumrah bowled an absolute snorter to (Aidan) Markram that nearly went above his head. It's up and down for the quicks, it's turning square for the spinners. On this surface, even I would have taken wickets if I had bowled. Bowling stump-to-stump would have done the trick,” he added.
Srikkanth was also not happy with the fact that India played four spinners but gave just one over of bowling to Washington Sundar over the two innings. The ex-India batter said that he has no problems with including Sundar in the playing XI but was not pleased with how the all-rounder was used.
“They played 4 spinners and one spinner (Sundar) didn't even bowl. In the second innings he didn't bowl a single ball. I don't understand the logic behind selecting 4 spinners. My problem is not with selecting Washington and playing him at No.3, but not giving him any bowling whatsoever,” he concluded.
South Africa Cricket Team
India Cricket Team