Indian pace department is currently not strong. That is why the team has decided to play on a whirlwind pitch. This is what the legendary Sunil Gavaskar thinks.

Jasprit Bumrah is unable to play due to an injury. Mohammed Shami is also not in his old rhythm. Umesh Yadav is experienced but Mohammad Siraj is inexperienced. Keeping all those numbers in mind, maybe India wants to play on a whirlwind pitch. “Taking 20 wickets in the Indian environment is not easy,” Gavaskar told an Indian media outlet. “No, Shami is not fully well. Siraj is inexperienced. The Indian pace department is not as strong as it used to be. It is very difficult to take 20 wickets in an Indian environment with this bowling department. That is the reason for making the vortex pitch in India.

Not stopping here, Gavaskar also said, “India will have to create a whirlwind pitch to reach the final of the World Test Championship. Had India’s pace department been a bit stronger, things might have been different. But the spinners are the strength of the team; they have to play on a whirlwind pitch. The batters’ patience can be tested on whirling pitches. The patience of the Australian batsmen is also being tested on such a pitch.”

Gavaskar also raised questions about Australia’s team composition. “How did the selectors of that country keep Josh Hazlewood in the team? Mitchell Starc was also not completely fit. Why was he kept in the team?” he told in his column in an Indian newspaper, Gavaskar wrote, “Australia has built a team with injury-prone cricketers.”