Cricket World Cup 2023: India Coach Rahul Dravid Slams ICC's 'Average' Rating For Ahmedabad, Chennai Pitches

Head coach Rahul Dravid said ODI matches are not just about fours and sixes, after the India vs Pakistan pitch in Ahmedabad and the India vs Australia pitch in Chennai during the Cricket World Cup 2023 received 'average' rating from ICC

PTI

Updated on: 21 October 2023 2:59 pm

Coach Rahul Dravid ahead of the India vs Bangladesh game in Pune.

The ICC's average rating given to two pitches involving India matches hasn't gone down well with head coach Rahul Dravid, who "respectfully disagreed" with the world body on Saturday, saying an ODI match is not just about batters and their pyrotechnics. The pitches used for India's match against Pakistan in Ahmedabad on October 14 and their clash against Australia in Chennai on October 8 received 'average' rating from the ICC. Rest of the pitches have been rated as 'good' or 'very good'. (IND vs NZ Scorecard | Streaming | Preview)

India skittled out Pakistan for 191 in 42.5 overs in Ahmedabad, while in Chennai, the hosts bowled out Australia for 199 in 49.3 overs.

"I will definitely respectfully disagree with the average rating given for those two wickets. I think they were good wickets. If you only want to see 350 (run) games and rate only those wickets as good, then I disagree with that. I think, you have to see different skills on display as well," Dravid said.

"It's not about if we wanted to see only 4s and 6s being hit, then we have T20 wickets as well, where, honestly, in Delhi or in Pune, probably 350-plus wickets as well. Only those are good wickets, then why are the bowlers here? Why have spinners at all, for that matter?

Dravid said an ODI game is all about showing different skills of players and not just hitting.

"I disagree with that (just hitting) because I think we should see all skills on display, the ability to rotate strike through the middle. See the quality of watching (Ravindra) Jadeja bowl or a (Mitchell) Santner bowl or a (Adam) Zampa bowl or watching Kane Williamson rotate the strike through the middle, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul the way they batted against Australia. Those are skills as well. Those also need to come out and be shown and be displayed," he said.

"Some of the wickets, even we have played, I mean, honestly, in Delhi and Pune, rotating the strike in the middle overs wasn't necessarily a very difficult skill. The contest was about who could hit more 4s and 6s. So that's not the only way, in my opinion, respectfully, to be able to judge wickets. I think we need to have a better way of deciding what is good and average.

"Sometimes wickets will turn a bit, sometimes they will seam a bit, they will swing a bit, they will bounce a bit. All we want to see is sixes and fours being hit in 350 scores as good wickets, then I disagree," the former India captain added.