"Much ado about nothing" - Salman Butt on hue and cry about pitch used for 1st India vs Australia Test

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt recently slammed critics of the Nagpur pitch by stating that the wicket used for the Test series opener between India and Australia is up to the mark.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt pointed out how the Australian media, along with several former cricketers, were worried about the surface. He, however, opined that they were intimidated even before the match started.

The 38-year-old also emphasized that the pitch was perfectly fine and had no role in the visitors getting bowled out for 177 on the opening day.

"The entire Australian media, all the former players, everyone was worried about how the pitch was going to be," Butt explained. "They were scared and there were a lot of doubts. However, it turned out to be much ado about nothing kind of a thing. It is a wonderful pitch."

Notably, Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat first at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 9. However, the visiting team failed to put up a strong performance with the bat.

Marnus Labuschagne was the top performer with the bat for the side in the first innings, scoring 49 runs. For India, Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, bagging a stunning five-wicket haul.

Ravichandran Ashwin also picked up three wickets, while pacers Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami finished with one wicket each.

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"Do they prepare slow, spin-friendly tracks when teams from Asia visit them?" - Salman Butt on Australia preparing seam-friendly tracks for home series

Salman Butt further went on to say that teams like Australia also make pitches as per their own strengths while playing at home. He noted that they do not use spin-friendly or slow tracks when they host India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or Bangladesh.

He suggested that teams should be ready to play on a turning track when they play in the subcontinent. The former opener highlighted how India were able to secure a 2-1 Test series win over Australia in 2020-21, where the conditions were conducive to fast bowling.

"Who is going to decide what a good pitch is?" the 38-year-old added. "Who is going to decide the standard of the pitches? They want standards that suit them. Do they prepare slow, spin-friendly tracks when teams from Asia visit them?

"Our teams have to play on fast and bouncy pitches. They should also expect the same treatment when they come to Asia. If they are saying that India made a turning track, they should see that India also beat them in Australia, where there were seam-friendly tracks."

India finished 77/1 at stumps at Day 1, trailing Australia's total by 100 runs. Skipper Rohit Sharma starred with the bat for the hosts with his unbeaten 56-run knock.