Won’t ask for helpful tracks: Kumble

Chandigarh, India coach Anil Kumble has said that he would never ask a curator to prepare a pitch that suits the home team. “No, it is the job of the curator,” Kumble told a cricket website when specifically asked if he would ever call a curator and ask for a certain kind of wicket. “It is a given that home conditions will favour the home team where spin is a dominant force, but not where (from) the first ball you have dust coming off,” Kumble added. Ravi Shastri, who was team director before Kumble took over as chief coach of the team, had been emphatic about taking full benefit from the “home advantage”. Last year, when South Africa toured India, the pitches were criticised for helping the spinners from the very first day. India won the first and third Tests inside of three days, while the second Test was washed out. Only the fourth and final Test went to the fifth day, South Africa losing by 337 runs. Before the first Test at Mohali, Shastri had said: “I believe at home you should play to your strength, there is no need to hide behind that issue. It has been happening over the years and that’s what you expect in your own country.” Kumble’s view Kumble doesn’t seem to see eye to eye with Shastri on this issue. He, in fact, said that he is unsure what the wickets would be like for the forthcoming series against New Zealand. “In September, when we are playing, obviously there’s a lot of rain leading up to the series so we don’t know what kind of wickets and how much sun these pitches have,” he said. “It all boils down to what nature gives you and allows you to prepare rather than you and me or somebody telling the curator what needs to be done.” Kumble also said that in India, the pitches are talked about a bit too much, and that he’d prefer to talk about how the team plays. “The focus somehow comes on the pitch whenever we play at home,” he said. “When we play abroad, you don’t really look at the pitch and you start blaming the batsman or bowler for not executing the skills on that particular pitch. When batsmen, bowlers and fielders execute skills to perfection in home conditions, then it is always the pitch that is helping you to achieve that, which is not right. Indian pitches will spin, that is a given. When it will spin is a matter of how the pitch has been prepared. I am someone who would rather talk about how the team has played rather than the pitch.” Team for NZ series today Meanwhile, the selection committee will meet in Mumbai on Monday to pick up the team for the series against New Zealand. The below-par Test record of Rohit Sharma is expected to be the focus of discussions. Despite Sharma’s poor form in Test cricket, he has the backing of captain Virat Kohli, who feels that the ODI specialist should be given a longer run to prove himself in the Test format. Sharma has been unable to settle down in Test cricket during his 18-Test career that began with a bang, with back-to-back tons against West Indies in late 2013. He has been in and out of the playing XI since then. On the recent tour of the West Indies, the 29-year-old played in two of the four Tests, one of which was washed out, and made 9 and 41 in the two innings he played. He didn’t do well in the first innings of the ongoing Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida after being included in the India Blue team to gauge his form. He made just 30 before throwing his wicket away. With talented youngsters like Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair waiting in the wings, Sharma’s Test future is likely to be debated keenly by the selectors.