"Count his remarks about the pitch for the 1st Test" - David Lloyd blasts Virat Kohli for defending spin-friendly wickets  

Former England cricketer David Lloyd has lampooned Virat Kohli for defending spin-friendly wickets in India. In a recent press conference, the Indian skipper attributed his team's success to not 'cribbing' about the pitches they play on.

In response, Lloyd recalled instances where Virat Kohli had criticized the playing conditions, including the 2019 World Cup game against England. Writing for the Sportsmail, Llloyd also slyly pointed to Kohli's comments after the first Chennai Test, which India lost by 227 runs.

"I see Virat Kohli said he doesn't comment on the conditions. And it's true, he doesn't unless you count his remarks about the pitch for the first Test, which he said was too slow, or the ball, which he said was poor quality or that time he said the boundaries were too short during a World Cup game against England. Apart from that," David Lloyd wrote.

Fifty for Stokesy on a tough first day.See highlights of the action 👇🇮🇳 #INDvENG 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 4, 2021

David Lloyd's barbs come in the wake of raging controversy surrounding the pitches used in the India-England series. While some experts have termed them 'unfit', others have refuted these claims.

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I'm hearing the groundsman who prepared the 1st Test pitch was sacked: David Lloyd

Virat Kohli

David Lloyd also fomented another brewing controversy. Some reports in both the Indian and English media stated that the groundsman for the first Test in Chennai was sacked after the match. Commenting on this, Lloyd labeled the Chennai strip 'excellent' and sarcastically called for "worker's rights."

"I'm a big fan of workers' rights — George Orwell, Wigan Pier, and all that. And I'm hearing that the groundsman who prepared that excellent pitch for the first Test was sacked for doing his job. The pitch had everything: runs for batsmen, a bit for the seamers, then the spinners came into it. So what happens? The poor guy gets kicked out," added David Lloyd.

Even on a pitch suitable for batting, England's batting collapsed yet again in the fourth Test. After winning the toss, Joe Root and co. could only muster 205 runs in their first innings.

Pretty sure if my memory serves me correct that the Groundsman in Chennai after the 1st Test was sacked for producing a pitch too flat ... Pretty sure I heard a few complaints about the Ball after the 1st Test ... #JustSaying #OnOn #INDvENG

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 3, 2021