Too much emphasis on having pitches with pace has finished the ability of Indians to play on slow pitches

[Malcolm Merlyn]

So we have been playing on lots of pitches with pace and bounce.Pitches where the ball comes on to the bat.We see pitches with grass and bounce in IPL and in Ranji matches. I dont remember when i last saw a slow gripping pitch for a LOI in India. The pitch at Mirpur was like the pitches we had in India/Sharjah in 90s.Slow and with grip for the spinners.Mustafizur kept bowling cutters with gripped and thats why our batsmen kept mistiming his deliveries due to lack of pace or nicked them due to the ball cutting away.There was a time when teams had a specialist cutter bowler,like Chris Harris or Shane Lee or Ian Harvey etc in the team. Recently in the IPL Sreenath Arvind another left armer bowled like this and was rewarded.Indian batsmen are just not used to playing bowlers like these on pitches like these. I think the current too much emphasis on pitches with pace/bounce and grass is wrong.While there should be certain stadiums which should have such pitches,we should also have our traditional slow turning pitches as well.

[Ironhide]

I have been saying same things and have created threads on this topic in the past too: http://www.indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=327136 http://www.indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=323724

[vayuu1]

We have keep lot's of grass on pitches making likes of Vinay into second coming of Marshall, what we need is a hard wicket which gives value to those fast bowlers who are ready to bend their back and spinners who are ready to give it a tweak and batsmen, who are willing to spend their time.

[vishalvirsingh]

Good point serenath arvind is as good as mushfiqur if not better. same pace and guile He shud also be in the planning as he can be picked on flat these kind of wickets We have been done in by one pacer Don't worry he will be sorted out.

[Yami]

MM, This is the set up, they learn from Zimbabwe.Zimbabwes tour of Bangladesh gave them idea to prepare pitches which help their particular bowler. Brian vetory in his very first test took the wicket of ashraful,tamim,kayes,mahammadulah,s.hasan At Harare, so they decide to arrange one day matches at the same grounds and vetory repeated 5 wits each in his both début ODI, and 2nd ODI of his career at B->B->B-> same wicket, just like mirpur, I wonder why India not opposed when Bangladesh plan all 3 ODI at same ground and same city M I R P U R., which was set up for one bowler M. RAHIM. 11 WKTS. vs Brian veTorys 10. ,

[Yami]

Mirpur more suit for high scoring test but its tricky business for ODI.

[Malcolm Merlyn]

Hope people see sense now.

[Crookbond]

I agree with the OP but not his reasons. India has barely played at home in the recent past. Recently, one match against WI played at the Kotla. http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-west-indies-2013-14/engine/match/676529.html The problem is two fold - wickethThis is where I agree with someone like MS Dhoni - we need to make wickets that suit our climate. Sure, there will be variation but the traditional character of the wicket shouldn't be lost. IF you want to learn to play on a different wicket, adapt or try playing somewhere else - South Africa, Australia or England. Heck, even NZ would do! This weird obsession with losing the natural traits of our wickets has now put us in a situation where we are neither good on swinging wickets nor can we handle spin.

[kosingh]

They can't play on slow pitches. But they're not doing well on fast grassy pitches either. We were humiliated in England. And then of course in Bangladesh. Dhoni's policy of persisting with a player and giving him multiple chances has the opposite effect of of what was intended. Instead of giving players confidence and self belief, we are making them tired, complacent and non-focused.

[horizonspeaks]

Agree with the post.

[kosingh]

It's sad really. Bats are better than ever before. Wickets are friendlier than ever. Grounds are smaller than ever before. The ICC has tweaked, tinkered and tampered with every rule to make things in favor of batsmen. Teams like Bangladesh easily score 300. Teams like England score 350 without too much trouble. And then come the mighty Indians.

[Malcolm Merlyn]

I agree with the OP but not his reasons. India has barely played at home in the recent past. Recently, one match against WI played at the Kotla. http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-west-indies-2013-14/engine/match/676529.html The problem is two fold - wickethThis is where I agree with someone like MS Dhoni - we need to make wickets that suit our climate. Sure, there will be variation but the traditional character of the wicket shouldn't be lost. IF you want to learn to play on a different wicket, adapt or try playing somewhere else - South Africa, Australia or England. Heck, even NZ would do! This weird obsession with losing the natural traits of our wickets has now put us in a situation where we are neither good on swinging wickets nor can we handle spin.

The WI team didnt have a Mustafizur like bowler.If they had someone like Santokie it would have been tougher. Its ok to make some pitches Hard and bouncy so that the ball comes on to the bat.But making almost all pitches like that is disastorous.

[Malcolm Merlyn]

all pitches in ranji are not grassy and batsmen from aus ' date='eng ,sa get dismissed by pacers quite often, does that mean they cant play pace or swing .[/quote'] Most Ranji pitches are.I have been visiting Eden for 20 years now.Last 2 seasons i have seen pitches which made me think if this was South Africa.Same with the pitch at Jadavpur stadium of CAB. If AUS/SA batters get battered by Mashrafe and Taskin they will be asking the same question.

[TheWall]

saddest part is we have no match winning spinners in the team and also our batsmen have forgot how to play against a spinner...

[sensible-indian]

saddest part is we have no match winning spinners in the team and also our batsmen have forgot how to play against a spinner...

hmmm..Ashwin of present?

[Crookbond]

The WI team didnt have a Mustafizur like bowler.If they had someone like Santokie it would have been tougher. Its ok to make some pitches Hard and bouncy so that the ball comes on to the bat.But making almost all pitches like that is disastorous.

Abbey, you said you can't remember - I provided one instance and the reason you can't remember is because India has been playing away from home for like, forever.

[Sandeep99]

na ghar ka na ghat ka

[G_B_]

I saw a thread which compared Mendis to Mustaquir thats exactly what happened. More than the pitches its this dumb weakness to be rumbled by somebody new which is frightening

[Gunner]

Need surfaces with pace and bounce (which will naturally turn on the last 2 days) which encourage bowlers to bowl fast, bend their backs and hit the deck hard. Not the grasslands we see in domestics which only reward bowlers that float the ball at 120k and don't help the spinners.