Gavaskar Slams Pitch Hypocrisy: Perth’s 32-Wicket Mayhem Gets Pass, Eden Faces Fire

Sunil Gavaskar has unleashed a fiery rant exposing what he calls blatant double standards in global pitch criticism, contrasting the silence around Perth’s two-day Ashes thriller with the backlash against Eden Gardens’ turning track.

The first Ashes Test saw 32 wickets tumble in under 48 hours as Australia crushed England by eight wickets, yet “there’s not a word of criticism about the pitch there.” Gavaskar highlighted this in his Mid-Day column, pointing to similar past instances without outrage.

Perth vs Eden: The Double Standard Exposed

Gavaskar drew direct parallels between recent high-wicket hauls: 19 wickets on day one in Perth (Ashes 2025), 17 on day one last year (India vs Australia), and 15 in Sydney. All escaped scrutiny despite grassy surfaces offering extreme bounce.​

Perth 2025 Ashes: 32 wickets in two days, no complaints about the “more grass than usual” pitch.

Eden Gardens India-SA Test: Ended in 2.5 days with spin dominance, drew fire from Michael Vaughan, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Anil Kumble.​

“The argument… was ‘this is Perth, Australia, and you will get bounce’. Fine, but then when the pitch affords turn, why can’t it be accepted that this is India, and there will be turn?” Gavaskar questioned.

“You Can’t Play Fast Bowling” vs “You Can’t Play Spin”

Gavaskar dismantled the selective outrage: complaints about bounce prompt retorts of “you can’t play fast bowling,” but spin-friendly tracks invite endless accusations against curators.

He invoked the old umpiring bias trope: “mistakes being made by their umpires being called human error, while those errors made by subcontinent umpires were cheating.” Similarly, Australian curators have “no agenda,” but Indian ones do.

“Stop pointing fingers at Indian cricket as there are three of the same hand pointing back at you,” he warned recently retired critics now questioning subcontinent pitches.

Historical Context Fuels the Fire

Gavaskar’s examples span years of perceived bias:

Perth’s grassy track last year: 17 day-one wickets, defended as “bounce.”

Sydney: 15 day-one wickets, no uproar.

Eden: Variable bounce worsened over time, yet spun out of control early—still slammed unlike Perth, which improved for batting.

The Little Master urged acceptance of local conditions: bounce in Australia, turn in India. Anything less smacks of hypocrisy.