The controversy over preparation of pitches for the Test matches against England refuses to go away. In the latest twist to the story, the BCCI has, reportedly, asked the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) to put East Zone curator Ashish Bhowmick in charge of the surface for the third Test beginning at the Eden Gardens on December 5.
He has replaced the vastly experienced CAB’s Prabir Mukherjee, who reportedly, refused to comply with the Board instructions to prepare a rank turner for the crucial Test here. The four-match series is now tied 1-1.
Even after swallowing the bitter pill — the strategy of preparing a turner backfired in Mumbai — Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni does not seem to have got the message.
The Indian batsmen came up short against the English spin duo of Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann at the Wankhede Stadium.
And the Indian spin trio of Pragyan Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh ran into big trouble against England captain Alastair Cook and the aggressive Kevin Pietersen.
Despite going one-up on a slow turner in Ahmedabad, Dhoni demanded a stark turner in Mumbai. Obviously, the 10-wicket defeat in the second Test has done nothing to convince Team India that its strategy is a flawed one.
Asked for his comments after Dhoni made a strong request for a spinning track in Kolkata, Prabir Mukherjee said, “Two pitches can never be the same logically. It’s most unethical if the Indian captain makes such statements in public. ”
