Allow visiting captain to bat first: Engineer
BANGALORE : Former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer believes the debate on the quality of pitches could be ended if the visiting team skipper was given the option of batting first.
Delivering the MAK Pataudi lecture at the BCCI awards function on Wednesday, Engineer reminisced about the former India skipper, who led the country to their first overseas Test series victory and was the architect behind the rise of the famed spin quartet of Bishan Bedi, EAS Prasanna, B Chandrasekar and S Venkatraghavan.
Turning to the focus on pitches in the India-Australia Test series, after the Pune pitch was rated ‘poor’ by the ICC Match Referee, Engineer said: “The Pune pitch was sub-standard. There is talk about having a neutral curator. I would say the visiting captain should be allowed to bat first.”
India suffered a 333-run defeat after being bowled out for 105 and 107, their lowest combined in a home Test at Pune but bounced back to win in Bangalore by 75 runs to level the four Test series.
TOP HONOURS
India skipper Virat Kohli received the Polly Umrigar award for the best international cricketer for the third time while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got the Dilip Sardesai award for his Man-of-the-Series performance in last year’s West Indies series, where he took 17 wickets in the 2-0 win.