No more flat pitches please:

The Indian team, at present, seems to be very intent on batting on flat tracks. Perhaps, they want to bloat their image by thrashing opponents 6-1 or 5-2. But, unfortunately, it is not going to do any good to their batsmen especially when they tour places like West Indies, SouthAfrica, and Sri Lanka. Pardon me for saying this; most of the current Indian ODI players seem to be flat track bullies, especially Suresh Raina, Uthappa, and Yuvraj Singh. Even though Yuvraj did hit two masterly tons, 138 and 118, against England, these innings came on either flat or less assisting tracks. The same Yuvraj struggled to score in sportive tracks in countries like Australia and Sri Lanka. The same stands true for Suresh Raina and Uthappa, these so-called good batsmen fail to score outside the subcontinent.

It is a pity that the BCCI still prefers to prepare such tracks in India despite knowing the consequences. Flat pitches provide Indian batsmen with a false sense of greatness which is dangerous. These same batsmen tend to be troubled even by average bowlers on tracks that provide assistance to bowlers.

Why Flat Tracks Don’t Help?
Most Batsmen seldom depend on good technique to score runs on flat tracks. In India, the tracks prepared for ODIs seldom support swing bowlers or seam bowlers. As a result, Indian batsman can swing their bat across the line; play the good ball with ease, without the fear of being bowled. Although this may seem beneficial for the Indian batsmen, it is bound to prove dangerous in the long run.

The technique of a batsman will only improve when he is truly tested by great fast bowlers and good spinners. True pitches which assist seam, swing, or spin, help batsmen to improve their footwork and judgement. Batsmen have to work hard for their runs, in the process; they have no other go but to improve their batting technique.

But in India, the tracks are prepared to guarantee a run feast. The outfields are lightning quick and the pitches do not provide assistance for pace and bounce. As a result, batsman can score freely at 6.5 - 7 runs per over. BCCI justifies this saying that the matches provide good entertainment to the audience. But I beg to differ. True cricket lovers would rather watch a match where the first team scores 220-240 and the second team fights hard to win it. Such matches provide to be truly exciting contests. Such instances are rare these days. Additionally, players like Yuvraj suffer badly due to this flat-track syndrome. Yuvi is a good player, but he fails to score well on pitches that provide assistance to spin. The reason is that his footwork and technique are susceptible against good quality bowling.

India have just beaten Australia 2-0 in the recently held Gavaskar-Border Trophy. In the ongoing ODI series against England, they are 5-0 ahead. If India desire to be world beaters, they have to prepare a team that can perform well across the world. In order to achieve their goal, they have to first prepare pitches that are sportive. Initially, the Indian batting order may find it tough to score runs on these tracks, but on the longer run, their technique will improve vastly and help them score runs against quality bowlers.


There is a saying, “When you fall down, don’t see the place you fell rather the place you slipped”. Similarly, India must analyze their past defeats and see why they got defeated. As of now, the only reasons I can see is “Overconfidence, lack of planning, and the lack of batting skills to suit seaming/swinging pitches.”