The number of outright verdicts in the Ranji Trophy has increased but more result-oriented pitches have come at the cost of the reduced role of slow bowlers
Nagraj Gollapudi20-Dec-2014In the first two rounds of the ongoing Ranji Trophy, there have been outright results in 12 out of 24 matches. In 108 matches during the group phase of the previous edition, the corresponding number was 55. That was a significant rise over the 2012-13 season which produced 43 results in the group stage. In 2011-12, only two out of seven knockout matches had an outright result. In 2013-14, every knockout game was decided outright, barring the rain-marred Punjab v Karnataka quarter-final.. Flat track. . Dust bowls. These words had become clichés to describe most of the pitches in India. However, the above numbers clearly indicate that the mindset of pitch-making is undergoing a big change. Curators, teams and administrators want more result-oriented surfaces.”The grounds have improved a lot,” says Daljit Singh, the chairman of the BCCI’s ground and pitches committee. One of the pioneers of modern pitch-making in India, Daljit has been the head groundsman at Mohali for many decades and the BCCI point man for anything to do with pitches.WV Raman, the former India and Tamil Nadu opener, agrees with the change. “The very fact that a lot of positive results are coming is encouraging,” Raman says. “Unlike the time when a high-scoring draw would be a preconceived notion, we do get quite a few results these days.”Change comes at a price sometimes and in the case of Indian domestic cricket, a major cost has been the diminishing role of the spinner. Over each of the previous three Ranji seasons, there has been no spinner among the top three wicket-takers. There is not one spinner in first-class cricket who has performed consistently and forced the selectors to take notice. As recently as five years back, teams would pick two specialist spinners in the XI. Now, fitting in one and giving him a prominent role is proving to be difficult.Experts have already pointed out one big reason is that quality spinners are on the decline and the young and talented ones are either veering towards limited-overs cricket or getting distracted by Twenty20. But there are more pertinent reasons, too, one of them being weather.
“It is a winter game in India. Every team is playing at least three seamers regardless of where they play. Whenever we start, we start with a generous grass cover with little moisture. Once you start with those conditions it becomes a good batting track on the second day. That leaves little scope for spinners in the end unless the conditions are warm or it is a red-soil pitch.”Daljit Singh, BCCI ground and pitches committee chairman
This year the Ranji Trophy started on December 7 and will finish in the second week of March. That means the league phase will be contested during peak winter. That means in northern and eastern venues the spinner does not have much purchase from the conditions and the pitch even on the fourth day.Another contributing factor has been the BCCI’s recommendation that pitches need to be faster and more seamer-friendly in the wake of the overseas defeats in England and Australia in 2011 and 2012. But it has become a situation of strengthening the case of fast bowlers at the expense of spinners.According to Daljit the role of the spinner has become limited. “It is a winter game in India. Every team is playing at least three seamers regardless of where they play. Whenever we start, we start with a generous grass cover with little moisture,” Daljit says. “Then there is also the height of the grass. Once you start with those conditions it becomes a good batting track on the second day. That leaves little scope for spinners in the end unless the conditions are warm or it is a red-soil pitch. Red-soil pitches encourage spinners as they tend to dry and come off towards the end of the game.”In the western and southern parts of India where the pitches are primarily of red soil, the spinners will continue to play a stronger role.Raman says spinners need more support in the interest of the game. “If you want Test cricket to survive, you need spinners.” The challenge for curators is to find the right balance, Raman feels. He agrees pitches should be varied in nature across the country which helps players to test their skills in different conditions. “But changing pitches does not meant you should leave X millimeters of grass cover. Where are the spinners going to come from if you leave some grass?”Another issue is the doctoring of pitches by home teams that has often resulted in underprepared surfaces which tend to break easily, ending matches inside three and at times two days. “That is an aberration,” Daljit says. “There will be not more than five to eight matches where such things may happen.” Stricter rules are in place now to avoid such actions. “We have devised a form comprising 17 points to rate a ground. Ten points concern the pitch while the rest rate the outfield, nets and other stuff.”Karnail Singh Stadium, the Railways home ground in Delhi, was banned for a season by the BCCI in 2012 for serving an underprepared pitch in a game. “You cannot do it anymore blatantly,” Daljit says. The ground, which had a muddy surface, now has a fresh green cover and more pitches on the square. Daljit said the new pitch would “seam a lot” but was a “far cry” from the previous track where it was “jumping and squatting” right from the start.
“Changing pitches does not meant you should leave X millimeters of grass cover. Where are the spinners going to come from if you leave some grass? More than the lateral movement that helps the fast bowlers, the bounce and carry needs to be there on all four days. If there is bounce even spinners will come into play.WV Raman, former India and Tamil Nadu opener
At many grounds, the main square lacks enough pitches. At such venues, back-to-back matches are played on the same pitch. Due to the wear and tear, the curator struggles to prepare a sporting surface. A curator says there are some venues like the old municipal ground in Rajkot where the pitches have not been re-laid for more than a decade. “Either it is an where the ball turns at right angles or it turns out be an underprepared pitch. Or it is a 700-run game,” the curator says. “Even in Jaipur there are certain tracks where it is completely flat. There are a few more grounds like that.”Nearly two years ago, Daljit was in a meeting with domestic captains and coaches in Mumbai. It was also attended by now sidelined BCCI president N Srinivasan, then secretary Sanjay Jagdale, general manager (game development) Ratnakar Shetty and technical committee chairman Anil Kumble. Everyone agreed that overall ground conditions had improved over the years but it was also felt that the role of the spinner needed to be enhanced on supportive surfaces.Shetty agrees that the “shortage” of spinners in domestic cricket is a cause for concern, but clarifies that it would not be right to solely blame the pitches. “There is no standardised pitch-making procedure laid down (by the BCCI),” Shetty says. “What we have only said is that it can’t be a rank turner. Pitches are made by local curators with the ground and pitches panel paying frequent visits.”Daljit says there is no “magic formula” for a good pitch but the foremost thing is the soil. “If the soil is well tested you know what kind of pitch you are making. We are looking for shrinking and swelling soil. The plasticity is what decides whether the wicket will come back to good shape.”But in north India wickets at most venues are made of Kaolinite soil. Once you make a hard wicket, it stays hard. There has to be more research into the soil component. If you have to make pitches which regenerate themselves and become fresh for the next game then soil is the most important and there has to be more awareness about that.”According to Raman, bounce is the key component for players and curators need to pay attention. “Sporting tracks only means seaming or bouncy tracks. That is something that needs to be addressed. More than the lateral movement that helps the fast bowlers, the bounce and carry needs to be there on all four days. If there is bounce even the spinners will come into play. Even a batsman, once he is set, can play his shots. The fast bowlers will always get returns in case they put in efforts.”The future of Indian spin – the likes of Karn Sharma, Akshar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav have not played enough first-class cricket. They need pitches that will allow them to perfect their skills as well as experiment.
