Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra doesn’t want India to prepare rank turners for the five-match Test series against England. Chopra reckons India lost the World Cup final due to their obsession with the pitch. India was dominant right throughout the World Cup but could not bring their best in the all-important final against Australia.
Meanwhile, India has been a force to reckon with in their conditions as the spinners have done the bulk of the damage. On the other hand, England has played aggressively in Test cricket in the last couple of years and they have won 13 out of the 19 Test matches they have played with Bazball.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “The match has a few big threads. The biggest thread is how the pitch should be. Should rank turners be made? I am saying and have been saying for a long time – you lost the World Cup final also due to your obsession with the pitch. Preparing a pitch favoring you cost you the finals.”
The reputed commentator added that the pitch curator should be asked to prepare a result-oriented pitch.
“You might say this is a different format. It’s not about the format but the habit. You become complacent. Just give one instruction to the curator – make a pitch that yields a result. It shouldn’t be a road-like pitch.”
Chopra added India will start as favorites against England and backed the hosts to win comfortably. But the former Delhi player questioned England’s weak spin attack, which doesn’t have a lot of experience.
“The scales are obviously tilted towards India and they will only win this series. The question is whether it would be 4-0, 5-0 or 4-1. However, which match will they (England) win and how will they take 20 wickets because the spin attack is extremely weak?”
“I don’t see any might in the spin bowling. So, if you don’t make turning pitches, you can score 500 runs against them at least thrice over the course of the series and maybe more. I feel you will win this series easily.”
India and England will take on each other in the first Test match from 25th January onwards at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
