Former Indian Test opener Sadagopan Ramesh has questioned the Indian pitches after out-of-form Abhishek Sharma smashed 233 runs off just 91 balls in inter-district one-day game on Sunday. Amritsar went on to score a gargantuan total of 533-8 in their 50 overs.
Meanwhile, Sharma had struggled to get going on the recent Zimbabwe tour, managing only 11 runs in three games at an average of 3.67. Furthermore, Sharma scored 131 runs in five T20Is against England at an average of 26.20 against England.
It is worth mentioning that the pitches in the Indian Premier League 2026 season were batting friendly and a score of more than 220 runs was a norm. However, Indian batters struggled to get going in tough conditions on the UK tour. Team India suffered six losses on the bounce, including two against Ireland and four against England.
Sadagopan Ramesh said on his YouTube Channel, “Though everyone was blown away by Abhishek scoring a double century in a One-day game, a closer look at the scores makes it unhealthy in the biggest scheme of things. Firstly, he deserves praise because scoring a 200 at any level is difficult. But if an out-of-form player comes back to India and straightaway scores a 233 off 91 balls, questions about the pitches at home must be asked again.”
In response to Amritsar’s mammoth score, Taran Tarn scored 313 runs in the run-chase, suffering a 220-run loss but the match total was more than 800 runs.
“One team has scored over 500 runs and the overall tally of over 800 runs in 100 overs. This is where the BCCI must take notice of a pitch that’s tailored only for the batters. The BCCI must instruct the state associations, irrespective of the value of the tournament, to prepare pitches that also provide assistance to the bowlers.”
The former flamboyant batter feels the Indian batters will struggle to get going in South African conditions in the ODI World Cup if they keep batting on such featherbeds at home.
“They must remember that India’s next two big white-ball tournaments are in South Africa and Australia. If the players keep batting on 800 to 900 pitches at home and go there, they will struggle. It’s also the only way for someone like Bumrah to emerge next. Otherwise, everyone will take up only batting,” said Ramesh (via the aforementioned source).
India’s next ODI series is against the West Indies at home.
