Kotla pitch wasn’t upto international standards: Harbhajan

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: December 31, 2009

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Jalandhar: Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh came out in support of his teammate Gautam Gambhir, saying that the pitch at Feroz Shah Kotla wasn’t suitable for an international match and the DDCA should have organised some practice matches on the wicket before using it for the game against Sri Lanka.

Asked about his views on the pitch fiasco which led to the abandonment of the India-Sri Lanka fifth ODI on Sunday, Harbhajan said there was something wrong with the Kotla surface and it could have been dangerous for even Indian players if the home side had batted first.

“The pitch was behaving in surprising manner and Sri Lankan players got injuries due to fault of the pitch. The decision to call off the match was right,” Harbhajan, who was here to witness the cricket tournament in the name of his father Sardev Singh at Burlton Park Stadium, said.

“It is always better to hold some practice matches on any new pitch, instead of directly going for international matches,” he said.

Harbhajan also praised the youngsters in the Indian team, saying that they have given some really impressive performances and some one or the other has stood up when it was needed, which will serve India well in the 2011 World Cup.

“The newcomers have performed well. By the time of World Cup, they will attain experience as well and ultimately prove to be an asset to the team,” he said.

Harbhajan said he wanted to contribute for the team with the bat also but he has been lacking in consistency as a batsman. “For establishing as an all-rounder, consistency in batting is needed, which is lacking in me. But I will try my best to improve my batting also,” he said.

On the bowlers having a rough time in the just-concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka, Harbhajan said on batting pitches, batsmen would score quick runs even in Test matches. “Even in Test matches in Ahmedabad and Kanpur, almost 2000 runs were scored during the whole match and there was nothing much for bowlers to do in such batting pitches,” he said.

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