Former India cricketer Kris Srikkanth said he was happy for KL Rahul that he didn’t feature in the third Test against Australia given that the Indore track was tough to bat on.
Srikkanth feels Rahul's confidence would have been dented further had he played in the third Test match.
On a pitch that offered sharp turn, the hosts were bowled out for 109 and 163 across the two innings at Holkar Cricket Stadium and eventually lost the match by nine wickets in two days and a session.
Srikkanth also expressed his disappointment at the quality of the surface in Indore, which has been rated ‘poor’ by the International Cricket Council. The apex body has also awarded three demerit points to the strip. Match referee Chris Broad in his report said that the pitch was not a fair competition between the bat and ball.
"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," Srikkanth said in his YouTube show.
"On these pitches, batting is very difficult. Whoever it is, batting is difficult. Let it be anybody, be it Virat Kohli, no one can score runs on these pitches. If you looked at it, Kuhnemann, bowling in the first innings, got the ball to rip through and turn square.
"On these wickets, taking wickets is not a big thing. Even if I had bowled, I would have picked up wickets. These are all hard talks, we have to accept them," he added.
Kris Srikkanth was categorical in his assessment as he said that pitches like Indore are not a good advertisement for Test cricket.
"Not a good advertisement for Test cricket at all. They are doing 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's hard to watch the batting on these pitches. It's not good advertisement for Test cricket. There is nothing wrong in having home advantage. But you have to prepare some decent wickets," he remarked.
Despite this loss, India lead the four-match series 2-1 with one Test to go in Ahmedabad, which the hosts will need to win to reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The fourth and final Test will start on March 9.
