Vengsarkar suggests neutral venues for all Ranji matches

Indian batsmen have often found the going tough on the bouncy tracks of South Africa and Australia.

Indian batsmen have often found the going tough on the bouncy tracks of South Africa and Australia. Twenty20 world champions India struggled to last 20 overs against Australia during their one-off match in Melbourne a couple of days back and, on Sunday at Brisbane, during the first ODI, their weakness was exposed further.

The cure could, however, be in creating fast and bouncy tracks at the domestic level, and the process has already begun with the Ranji Trophy knock-out matches being played on neutral venues, giving pitch curators a free hand to dish out wickets to assist pacers.

On Sunday, chief national selector Dilip Vengsarkar advocated for more bouncy pitches across the country after having had a look at the Motibaug ground pitch. “We need to have more bouncy wickets. This Motibaug strip is very good. Not just knockout, all Ranji matches should be played at neutral venues,” opined Vengsarkar.

During the Ranji tournament, one saw batsmen struggle at neutral venues on green-top wickets with pacers doing all the damages. All the six knock-out matches of Ranji Trophy—two semi-finals and a final each in Plate and Elite division—were played on neutral venues. Even the Duleep Trophy matches are being played on grassy wickets.

“We need to play on wickets like this. There should be something for fast bowlers. Otherwise, they keep bowling on flat wickets,” UP skipper Mohammed Kaif had said after their semi-final match against Saurashtra.

Even curators feel the need to provide for such pitches. “There is no pressure on curators when matches are played on neutral venues. We can offer sporty wickets. There is no one coming to us then to tell us to prepare pitches to help the home team,” said West Zone pitch curator Dhiraj Prasana. “For India to do well overseas, this is the only way. Domestic matches should be played on bouncy wickets,” he added.

Another curator, Vasudev Patel of the Baroda Cricket Association nodded in agreement.

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“You saw how India played today at Brisbane. We must have bouncy wickets like the one here at Motibaug for domestic matches. This is one of the reasons why India struggled. You have to learn to play on such wickets,” said Patel.