Nothing wrong with tailor- made pitches: Kirsten

Indian coach Gary Kirsten, who represented India in place of skipper Anil Kumble in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) cricket ranking awards ceremony, stressed that there was nothing wrong in home teams playing to their advantage by preparing wickets to suit their bowlers during a Test series.

“I don’t think there is anything wrong in home sides preparing wickets to suit their bowlers and take full advantage of their rivals’ weakness to spin or fast bowling. Even in the past we have seen it happen and it should not be made into a big issue now,” Kirsten told reporters after receiving the prize money of $75,000 for India finishing second on the International Cricket Council (ICC) ranking list, here on Wednesday.

“If the Indians wants to take advantage of their opponents by preparing spinner-friendly wicket, like they did in Kanpur, there is nothing wrong in it. Likewise if the Aussies or the South Africans think they can do the same to other teams while playing at home, it should not be made into a big issue,” the new coach added.

When asked about the International Cricket Council (ICC) expressing unhappiness over the under-prepared Kanpur wicket, where India beat South Africa within three days to square the series, Kirsten said, he was not aware of any such thing.

“I don’t know about the ICC’s feelings but I am happy that India won as I am the coach of their team and everybody here expects me to contribute to their victory,” he said.

Speaking about Twenty20’s effect on other forms of cricket, Kirsten said, Test cricket would be the ultimate test for a player and was the real challenge but the ODIs and Twenty20 games can add more innovative stuff to the longer version of the game.

“If you ask any youngster, who plays cricket, he would simply say he wants to play Test cricket for his country. So Test cricket will retain its charm despite other forms of cricket making its entry. A hardcore fan would love to watch the ups and downs of a five day match,” he said.

“Of course, from the entertainment point of view ODIs and Twenty20 might be preferred to Test cricket but in the long run all three types of cricket would be complimenting each other in some form or the other,” he added.