• Source:JND
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Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the double standards of the match officials and veteran cricketers in rating pitches around the world after the Cape Town Test ended in less than two days in Newlands.

India won the second Test against hosts South Africa by seven wickets after 23 wickets fell on the opening day of the match. The pitch had variable bounce since the beginning of the encounter as no batter from either side was not able to score fifty in four innings. The Cape Town Test was the shortest completed Test match in history as India levelled the two-test series 1-1 to end their all-format tour on high.

After the match, India skipper Rohit Sharma also slammed the ICC's double standards of rating pitches and called for a neutral approach to the process.

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Gavaskar somewhat echoed Rohit's sentiments and recollected what Indian curators were called when the second Test between India and Australia ended in three days at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi last year.

“These kind of excuses that the curator got it wrong is typical of the SENA countries. When our curators make a dry pitch then it’s ‘chicanery’ as a former Australian skipper said last year after the Aussies had been walloped in the first two Test matches,” Gavaskar wrote in Mid-day column.

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“So our groundsmen do it deliberately, but their groundsmen just get it wrong. It’s like before the third country umpires came in, where decisions by their umpires were excused as ‘human error’ while our umpires were cheats and ‘Delhi Butchers’ and all such derogatory headlines," he added.

The veteran opening batter further backed Rohit for his furious remarks on challenging conditions in Cape Town after the conclusion of the match.

“The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was spot on when he said after the quick finish in the second Test that he doesn’t mind playing on pitches like the one dished out there as it’s a challenge to play on surfaces different from home," Gavaskar said.

After the South Africa Tests, India are slated to host England for the five-match Test series, starting on Janury 25 in Hyderabad.

Gavaskar highlighted that English media will come down heavily on Indian pitches if they fail to excel in the series.

“In about three weeks time another Test series starts with a country that has the biggest whinging and moaning media in sport. Anything that doesn’t suit their team will be criticised and allegations will fly thick and fast," he said.

“Ever since India became a power in the sport and rightfully began to assert itself in the ICC boardrooms, there has been a concerted effort to denigrate it by those from the Old Powers. They arrive with an agenda and come what may, will dish out stories for getting the brownie points at home.

“It would be wonderful if our media rises to the challenge and takes them on word for word. That would be a clash to enjoy as thoroughly as the one that will unfold on the ground," Gavaskar added.