Sunil Gavaskar is not in favour of one particular ball to be used for Test match cricket in all conditions. The legendary former Indian opening batsman thinks it would be "unfortunate" if MCC World Cricket Committee's proposal to have one standardised leather company employed for the inaugural World Test Championship is approved by the ICC.
The nine-team Test championship begins with the Ashes this summer and culminates at the end of six home and six away series each for all sides with a final in 2021.
"Now we are hearing that they (MCC) are talking about standardising the ball, you might as well standardize the pitches, you might as well standardise the bat, you might as well standardise everything...What’s the big deal in playing cricket... (there is this) whole idea of going overseas and winning... because you are playing in different conditions," Gavaskar was quoted saying by the PTI on Thursday, March 14.
"That (MCC) World Committee is like Cricket Club of India or the National Cricket Club in Kolkata or Madras Cricket Club in Chennai. It is pretty similar to that, the MCC is saying our committee should (be) listened to (more than the) ICC Committee. And unfortunately, a lot of people take them seriously."
SG ball is used in India for Tests, Dukes in England and the West Indies, and Kookaburra in other major countries like Australia and South Africa. And that is not the only reason why the game's traditional format remains stiff to conquer, especially in overseas conditions where surfaces are tailor-made as per the demands of the home team.
"I personally feel, the whole idea of cricket is the different conditions that you get," Gavaskar added. "You get different conditions from ‘gully’ to ‘gully’ (street to street), leave aside country to country or city to city."
"One gully there might be something, which is just across, you can’t hit the straight ball, there might be a policeman there, there might a fish vendor coming there (while the play is on), which might not happen in next gully, so you cannot standardize."
"The whole idea of cricket and why players are recognised as being good or great is when they do well in overseas, unfamiliar conditions," he concluded.
