Gautam Gambhir Sends Clear Message To Pitch Curators Before England Series
Photo : AP
India are all set to begin their campaign in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle when they take on England in a five-match Test Series beginning on June 20. The team has already travelled to England and preparations are underway. The team is now currently stationed in the Beckenham County Ground in Kent. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has given clear instructiins as to how he wants the practice pitches to be so that they can have less difficulty during the matches in English conditions.
Speaking to RevSportz, Josh Marden, the head pitch curator at Beckenham, clearly stated that Gautam Gambhir told them that they want a good pitch that isn't too flat or too green. This would genuinely help them in their match preparation. Hence, the curators adjusted the pitch accordingly.
"Yes, the coaching staff, including Gautam Gambhir and others, spoke to us after their internal meeting. Their message was clear: "We want a good pitch." Not something too flat or too green, but something that will genuinely help with match preparation. They wanted more realistic conditions, not just batting drills. So we adjusted a few things, grass cover, net width, and length extensions. The feedback has been great since then," Marsden said.
"The soil here naturally plays batter-friendly, so visually, the wicket may look dry or flat. But we manage grass density, not just what you see, but how thick it is. The pitches currently used by India and Australia have slightly more grass than our usual white-ball surfaces. It's a subtle balance. Even with a brown surface, there's enough life in it for seamers, if you hit the right length," he added.
India Squad For England Series
Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
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