World Cup 2023: ICC Rates Ahmedabad, Chennai World Cup Pitches 'Average', Rahul Dravid Responds

The ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 is in full swing, with teams having played at least four matches each, and there's a clear distinction between those that have performed well and the rest. The Indian cricket team, led by Rohit Sharma, and the 2019 runners-up, New Zealand, have been the standout teams, remaining unbeaten in the Cricket World Cup 2023.

India kicked off their campaign with a victory against Australia in Chennai on October 8, followed by a win against Pakistan in Ahmedabad on October 14. They also secured victories against Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Among the four venues where the Indian cricket team has played, two of them, Chennai and Ahmedabad, have received an 'average' rating for their pitches by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

As of October 15, these were the only two pitches in the Cricket World Cup that had been rated as 'average.' The others received ratings of 'good' or 'very good.'

The ICC's average rating for the two pitches used in India's matches has drawn criticism from head coach Rahul Dravid, who expressed his disagreement, saying that an ODI match is not solely about the performance of the batsmen and their aggressive shots.

India restricted Pakistan to 191 runs in 42.5 overs in Ahmedabad, and in Chennai, they bowled out Australia for 199 runs in 49.3 overs.

“Main definitely, respectfully disagree karunga. Vo good wickets they.(I will definitely, respectfully, disagree with the average rating given for those two wickets.) I'll answer this in English because I might get myself into trouble!" Dravid said as the press room broke into laughter.

"I will definitely, respectfully, disagree with the average rating given for those two wickets," Dravid stated. "I think they were good wickets. If you only want to see 350 (run) games and rate only those wickets as good, then I disagree with that. I think you have to see different skills on display as well."

"It's not about if we wanted to see only 4s and 6s being hit, then we have T20 wickets as well, where, honestly, in Delhi or in Pune , probably 350-plus wickets as well. Only those are good wickets, then why are the bowlers here? Why have spinners at all, for that matter?"

Dravid emphasised that an ODI game should showcase various player skills and not just focus on power hitting.

"I disagree with that (just hitting) because I think we should see all skills on display, the ability to rotate strike through the middle. See the quality of watching (Ravindra) Jadeja bowl or a (Mitchell) Santner bowl or a (Adam) Zampa bowl or watching Kane Williamson rotate the strike through the middle, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul the way they batted against Australia. Those are skills as well. Those also need to come out and be shown and be displayed."

"Some of the wickets, even we have played, I mean, honestly, in Delhi and Pune, rotating the strike in the middle overs wasn't necessarily a very difficult skill. The contest was about who could hit more 4s and 6s. So that's not the only way, in my opinion, respectfully, to be able to judge wickets. I think we need to have a better way of deciding what is good and average."

"Sometimes wickets will turn a bit, sometimes they will seam a bit, they will swing a bit, they will bounce a bit. All we want to see is sixes and fours being hit in 350 scores as good wickets, then I disagree," the former India captain added.