Team India’s pre-match practice at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) ahead of the Boxing Day Test may not have gone as per plan, with stadium pitch curator Matt Page explaining that fresh pitches for the Test match have been prepared only three days prior to the game. India reached Melbourne nearly a week ahead of the Test, and have seemingly practiced for multiple days on unrepresentative pitches for the game. However, Page shut down any claims of bias towards the home side, stating that this has been standard procedure for them throughout.
“For us, three days out, we prepare Test match pitches for here. If teams come and train before that, they get what pitches we have had. Today (Monday), we are on fresh pitches. If India had trained this morning, they would have been on those fresh pitches. It’s stock standard procedure for us, three days out,” Page said.
While India have practiced at the MCG for a couple of days already, Australia practiced for the first time only on Monday, and therefore got to play on the pitches that have been prepared for the fourth Test.
Page’s statements made sure to rubbish claims of any ‘conspiracy’ against Team India ahead of the game, a claim that had been made by an Indian website.
Meanwhile, India’s practice has been unideal in more ways than one. Akash Deep and captain Rohit Sharma have copped blows to the body during practice on the pitches with low and uneven bounce.
However, Akash Deep has stated that it’s part and parcel of the game.
“Such blows are common when you play cricket,” he said. “I think this (practice) wicket was for white ball, which is why the ball kept low at times. But these blows are common in training. There are no major concerns because of that,” Akash Deep said, as quoted by WA Today.
The practice pitch saga adds to the animated build-up to the Boxing Day Test, following the press conference incident, where Australian media have accused Indian players of only answering questions in Hindi.
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