Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar slams SENA countries for double-standards about pitches

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the SENA (South Afrcia, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries for having double standards about the pitches. The comments come after India's second Test against South Africa in Cape Town got over inside two days. The Test, which India won by seven wickets, saw 23 wickets falling on the first day.

“These kind of excuses that the curator got it wrong is typical of the SENA countries,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for news outlet Mid-day.

“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," he added referring to Australia's tour of India in early 2023.

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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,” continued Gavaskar.

Notably, India skipper Rohit Sharma had also slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for pitch rating procedure after the Cape Town Test.

"It's okay for the ball to seam and swing from day one but not when it spins. In my opinion, this is unfair," Rohit had said.

India's next Test assignment is a five-Test home series against England and Gavaskar did not shy from throwing shades at the British media ahead of the tour.

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

England tour of India starts on January 25 with first Test set to be played in Hyderabad.