"There’s not a word of criticism"- Sunil Gavaskar openly attacks ex-cricketers for not talking about Perth pitch for first Ashes 2025-26 test

Sunil Gavaskar noted that cricket experts did not criticise the pitch condition of Optus Stadium in Perth.

Former Indian Cricket Team captain Sunil Gavaskar has blasted cricket experts for overlooking the pitch of the first test of The Ashes 2025-26, which ended within two days. Australian Cricket Team crushed England Cricket Team by eight wickets in the clash, which witnessed 32 wickets falling across just six sessions.

The first test between Indian and South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, became a hot topic of discussion over its pitch conditions. With uneven bounce and sharp turn, the pitch offered a lot of support to bowlers while batters struggled to score runs. The encounter ended within three days, with South Africa winning by 30 runs to register a test victory in India after 15 years.

Following the match, some cricket experts like Michael Vaughan, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Anil Kumble, among others slammed the pitch at Eden Gardens. Moreover, former India captain Sourav Ganguly advised Gautam Gambhir to keep the pitch out of discussion at home games.

There’s not a word of criticism about the pitch there: Sunil Gavaskar

In his column for the newspaper Mid-Day, batting legend Gavaskar said that there were no criticisms over the pitch conditions of the Perth test, which ended within just two days. The match witnessed both Australia and England failing to score the

“The Perth Test match has ended in less than two days with 32 wickets having fallen, including 19 on the first day, but as yet there’s not a word of criticism about the pitch there. Last year too, 17 wickets fell on Day One at Perth between India and Australia, and I can’t recall a critical word about the pitch, which had more grass on it than usual,” he said.

He also recalled that the Sydney test between India and Australia saw 15 wickets falling on day one. However, there were no arguments made by cricket experts over the pitch after that game.

“The same was in Sydney where 15 wickets fell on Day One. The argument, as enumerated by the curator in Perth last year, was ‘this is Perth, Australia, and you will get bounce’. Fine, but then when the pitch affords turn, why can’t it be accepted that this is India, and there will be turn?, he said.

“If you complain about the bounce, then the counter argument is you can’t play fast bowling. Why is there never a counter argument that you can’t play spin bowling when the pitch affords turn in India?” Gavaskar concluded.

Meanwhile, after the first test against South Africa, head coach Gambhir stated that there were no issues with the pitch and it was prepared according to their demands. India had requested a spin-friendly wicket for the Kolkata test.

However, the move backfired as South African bowlers dominated India with a better spin attack and bowled them out for just 93 runs against a 124-run target in the fourth innings. Spinner Simon Harmer clinched four-wicket hauls in both innings of the clash to win the Player of the Match award.

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