Former Indian cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan recently ignited a storm onsocial media through a blistering Twitter with his assertion that matchpitches in India are supposedly manipulated to cater for Indian bowling.This contentious episode unfolded against the backdrop of discussionssurrounding the upcoming World Cup commentators, ultimately giving rise toa fiery online feud, Zee News has reported.
Sivaramakrishnan’s initial critique commenced rather innocuously as heresponded to a post disclosing the World Cup commentator lineup. Hebemoaned the absence of “genuine spinners” in the panel, denouncing it as a”pathetic mix.” Notably, the list included celebrated spinners such as LisaSthalekar, Samuel Badree, Ravi Shastri, and Russell Arnold, all boastingimpressive international wicket records.
However, the turning point occurred when a fellow commenter suggested thatflat pitches would be prepared for India’s batsmen in the World Cup. Inresponse, Sivaramakrishnan delivered a bold claim, contending that IndianTest pitches were intentionally tailored to favor Ashwin’s bowling prowess.He also cast doubts on Ashwin’s performance in SENA countries (SouthAfrica, England, New Zealand, and Australia).
Throughout this Twitter storm, R Ashwin admirably maintained his composureand humility. He expressed surprise at his inclusion in the World Cup squadand acknowledged the challenges he faced returning to limited-overs cricketafter a lengthy hiatus. Regrettably, the warm-up match between India andEngland in Guwahati was washed out, depriving fans of a chance to witnessAshwin’s performance on the field.
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A passionate Ashwin supporter swiftly countered the criticism, vigorouslydefending the spinner’s impressive record and asserting his superiorityover Sivaramakrishnan. Ashwin had recently been drafted into India’s WorldCup squad following Axar Patel’s injury, boasting 155 ODI wickets in 115matches. In stark contrast, Sivaramakrishnan’s own limited internationalrecord stood at 15 wickets in 16 ODIs and 26 wickets in nine Test matches.
Despite the mounting backlash, Sivaramakrishnan refused to backtrack fromhis controversial stance. He continued to stoke the flames by asserting,”Any fool will get wickets on tampered pitches in India,” insinuating thathe had firsthand evidence of pitch tampering to favor Ashwin. Thisescalation of hostilities added an extra layer of intensity to theunfolding controversy, fueled by relentless criticism from a formercricketer.
