Home advantage is fine but a match finishing so fast is just unacceptable, says Monty Panesar

Former England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar played a key role when England won the 2012-13

Test series

in India 2-1. The 38-year-old, who bagged 17 wickets in that series, did exactly what India’s Axar Patel has been doing in the current series that reads 2-1 in favor of the hosts. However, the Ahmedabad Test — played with the pink ball — has been subject to a lot of controversy with regards to the nature of the pitch. In a freewheeling chat with Prasad Ramasubramanian, Panesar spoke on this and a lot more
How do you rate the pitch for the 3rd Test?It was a shocker of a wicket to be honest. It resembled a Saturday club cricket wicket where teams get bowled out cheaply and you are chasing under a 100 to win. It’s not a great advertisement for Test cricket. You have the world’s biggest cricket stadium and the game is over in less than two days. That’s not on. Teams can have home advantage but a match finishing so quickly is just unacceptable. For me, playing cricket on such tracks is a big no.

What would be your advice to the curator for the fourth and final Test?India is a world-class team and they need to back themselves to win in all conditions. Virat Kohli’s side must show their skillset irrespective of the nature of the wicket. If I was Sourav Ganguly, the president of BCCI, I would tell coach Ravi Shastri and Kohli that we should have a flat wicket for the fourth Test. India should show the world that they can win not just on turning wickets but even otherwise.

21 out of 30 wickets fell to straighter deliveries. Do you reckon the batsmen failed to apply themselves as has been suggested by Kohli?The wicket was a tough one and created doubts in the mind of the batsmen. Once the batsmen are unsure of which ball will turn and which won’t, the bowlers begin to call the shots. So,
the bowler gets a wicket with a straight ball because the batsmen are playing for the turn.

Captain Joe Root said the pink ball zipped through and gained more pace. Do you think that was the case?

Yes, I agree with him. I have bowled with the pink ball under the lights. The pink ball makes you feel that it has a plastic sheen on it. The stitching on the seam is quite different from the red ball. The ball takes off once it pitches and batsmen have little time to judge.

What’s the reason for England’s poor run of scores in the last two Tests? At the moment, our batsmen are playing spin like they would do back home in England. They haven’t made those little adjustments batsmen must make while playing on Indian wickets. Their feet movements are too static. They need to be nimbler on their feet and react quicker on Indian conditions. At the moment, England batsmen seem to me like deer in front of headlights.

Do you reckon there is any batsman in the current England side who can bat like Kevin Pietersen or Alastair Cook in 2012? That’s a very difficult question. Cook and K P were both brilliant in working out methods to play the Indian bowlers. They had a solid game plan and stuck to it. At the moment, that’s not happening with the England batsmen on this trip. I feel England are taking this as more of a learning tour than anything else.

Do you think Axar is doing what you did during the 2012 series?Axar is a good bowler in helpful conditions. I would like to see how he performs on flatter wickets that can be unresponsive. What impressed me most about him is that he varies his pace, bowls wicket to wicket and is tough to get away with.

Do you think you would have been even more lethal on a pitch like this?(laughs) Anybody would have been lethal on a wicket like this. You had Root taking a fifer in no time and that tells you how the pitch was. A ground as beautiful as the one in Ahmedabad certainly demands a much better wicket than what was offered in the third Test.

Your take on R Ashwin and has he been the one outstanding factor in this series?Ashwin is getting better with each match. He reads the situation well. At the moment, whatever plans he has for the England batsmen — they seem to be coming off well. The 400 Test wickets are a testament to Ashwin’s never-ending penchant to learn and get better at his craft.

Do you think it is possible for England to recover from here?I think it will be a test of character. Things are down at the moment but it gives opportunity for players to show what they are made of. One must remember that a good performance on an India tour can sometimes book your place for the whole year.