'Who defines what a good pitch is?' - Ravichandran Ashwin slams critics after Pink-Ball Test

Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has vehemently hit out at those criticising the pitch laid out at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, where India defeated England by 10 wickets within 2 days.

With batsmen from both sides struggling on the the Ahmedabad surface which aided spin since the beginning, there has has been a lot of regarding the pitch's quality. While none of the England players have complained, some former cricketers have called it a poor wicket.

Frustrated by the never-ending debate, the 34-year-old Ravichandran Ashwin said that the talk about the pitch is getting out of hand and there is never a debate about the pitch in any other country. Replying to a query during a virtual press conference, Ravichandran Ashwin was quoted as saying -

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I am not here to say that your opinion is right or wrong. But the talk about the surface is getting out of hand. Is there any instance where the pitch has been talked about this much when we have played in other countries?

finished in 2 days Not sure if that’s good for test cricket !If @anilkumble1074 and @harbhajan_singh bowled on these kind of wickets they would be sitting on a thousand and 800 ?🤔However congratulations to 🇮🇳 @akshar2026 what a spell! congratulations @ashwinravi99 @ImIshant 💯

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) February 25, 2021

Entertaining .. YES .. but this is a awful pitch for Test cricket .. !!!! Complete lottery on day 2 !! #INDvENG

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 25, 2021

Did not complain about pitches in NZ - Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin, who became the 2nd fastest bowler to reach 400 Test wickets in the Pink-ball Test, cited the examples of India's tour to New Zealand in 2020. Virat Kohli's men had lost both the Tests in less than 3 days on surfaces that offered prodigous swing throughout the games in that very tour.

He also referred to a video which is doing the rounds on social media, that of Virat Kohli's press conference from South Africa a couple of years ago. In that video, the Indian cricket team captain is seen refusing to complain about the bouncy pitches that his team had to play on.

"We are not complaining about the pitches, we are not complaining about the conditions, we are here to play."~ Virat Kohli (after a test match got over in 3 days in South Africa.pic.twitter.com/RCI0sTDYcz https://t.co/CIBdeO6Cgn

— Cricketopia (@Cricketopia_) February 26, 2021

"We have been to New Zealand, where both the Tests got over in a total of 5 days. There is a video doing the rounds where Virat Kohli is talking in South Africa and he says I am not here to talk about the pitch. That is how we have been taught to play cricket.

Further questioning the detractors of the Motera pitch, Ravichandran Ashwin said there are no rules that specify that the pitch should seam on the first day and aid spinners only on the last couple of days.

"The bowler wins the game, the batsmen need to bat well to score runs. Who defines what a good surface is? Seam on the first day, then bat well in the next couple of days and spin on the last two days, who makes these rules?

England crumbed to two very low totals (112 and 81) during the Pink-Ball Test, which saw hosts India trounce the visitors by a massive 10-wicket margin. With the visitors having crumbled to two back-to-back losses in the four-match series, they are officially out of contention for a spot in the final of the World Test Championship.