Former Indian Test opener Wasim Jaffer slammed Guwahati pitch after India won the second ODI against the West Indies by eight wickets at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. A total of 811 runs were scored by both teams on a featherbed pitch.
West Indies posted a par score of 405-7 on the board after John Campbell, skipper Shai Hope and Amir Jangoo scored fine centuries.
On the other hand, India was able to comfortably chase down the mammoth score with 39 balls to spare after Shubman Gill scored a double century whereas Rohit Sharma scored a hundred.
Jaffer said the Guwahati had nothing for the bowlers. Barring Naman Dhir and Kuldeep Yadav, all the bowlers from both sides, conceded their runs at an economy rate of more than seven.
Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube Channel, “I feel pity for the bowlers. Becoming a bowler in today’s time is a very difficult task. What would the bowlers be thinking after seeing this? There were fast bowlers from West Indies and Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Allan Donald in our time. There is absolutely nothing for the bowlers today. It seems like the curators just sit on road rollers all the time. It looks less like a pitch and more like a road.”
The former flamboyant batter believes scores of 350-400 will become a norm going forward in ODI format.
He added, “It’s like 350-400 will become the norm going forward. We should think about this as the bowlers should also be in the game; otherwise, the game will become very boring. It will be like the team that bats better or has more power will win. There needs to be a contest between bat and ball.”
On the other hand, debutant Auqib Nabi Dar had a tough outing, conceding 84 runs in 8.5 overs he bowled. Jaffer said it won’t be fair to judge the fast bowler’s performance as he was playing his maiden match.
“All the bowlers got hit today. It is unfair to judge a boy playing his first match. This is not the right format for Auqib Nabi anyway. He doesn’t have very solid numbers in 50-over cricket. His numbers are there in red-ball cricket. We would like to see him in the team for the New Zealand series. It’s a good thing for him that he got selected in the Indian team, but Jammu and Kashmir will miss him in the Irani Trophy.”
The third ODI between India and the West Indies will be played at New Chandigarh on Saturday.
