Former India head coach Vikram Rathour has denied the allegations of using a doctored pitch for the ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia. Notably, the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad came into question after India’s shocking loss in the final of the tournament. Ex-India batting coach Vikram Rathour has broken the silence on the controversial pitch issue that surrounded the 2023 ODI World Cup final, played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Before the World Cup final against Australia, India were accused of changing the pitch at the last moment. The pitch turned out to be slow and low during the first innings when India batted. But as the dew settled in the evening, the pitch got better for batting and run-making seemed easy. As a result, Australian batters tonked the Indian bowlers in the middle phase of the second innings and chased down the target comfortably in the end.
The Aftermath of 2023 World Cup Final loss
In the aftermath, significant chatter emerged regarding the pitch’s nature during the final. Many believed the pitch’s slowness played a major role in India’s defeat, contrasting with the competitive wickets that had seen them through their World Cup campaign. In fact, former India batter Mohammad Kaif had also claimed that India “doctored” the pitch, claiming that he saw the color of the pitch change throughout the three days.
“I was there for three days, did a lot of shows. Rohit Sharma came in the evening with Dravid, went to the pitch, stood there for an hour and went back. They came again on the second day, and did the same thing. This went on for three days, and I saw the color of that pitch change. I wore a blue shirt today, it would look yellow three days later… that was the extent of that change,” Kaif said Guest in the Newsroom on TheLallanTop.
Later in the interview, he claimed India lose the game because it “doctored” the pitch.
“If it was a normal pitch… the form that Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav were in.. they were in great touch! If we had a flat pitch, 100% we would have won. Ham wicket me doctoring karne ke chakkar me phas gaye (We doctored the wicket, and that led to our loss),” said Kaif.
Finally India won the ICC T20 World Cup Trophy 2024 on June 29th 2024 to enlighten happiness amongst Indian fans and Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour came out with the revelation dismissing reports of “doctored ” pitch during 2023 ODI World Cup Final .
Vikram Rathour dismisses pitch doctoring in 2023 ODI World Cup Final
Former Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour refuted the theory that tampering with the pitch led the Men in Blue to a loss against Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad. The Pat Cummins-led side ended up lifting their record-extending sixth World Cup on enemy turf as India’s unbeaten run came to an end.
The final witnessed Australia surprisingly electing to bowl first. However, the decision proved to be spot on, as India struggled to put 240 runs on the board after an optimistic start. The Men in Yellow completely choked the Indian batting unit in the middle and the death overs and went on to chase the total comfortably, courtesy of a Travis Head ton.
Following the match, a lot of backlash was directed at the management for allegedly intervening and requesting a slow surface, which proved to be their downfall in the end. Former players like Mohammed Kaif and others felt that doctoring the pitch was unnecessary.
“I’ve heard this story that the pitch was different, which I don’t agree with at all. In the final, the pitch improved as the game progressed; we expected it to get slower, which it didn’t, so why did that happen?
Yes, we could have scored more runs. There are so many ifs and buts, but one thing is sure: you need a little luck to win a tournament. And that day, Australia were luckier than us. They played better cricket than us. And that’s the reason they won,” Rathour said in an interaction with Sportstar.
Rathour came in as Sanjay Bangar’s replacement during Ravi Shastri’s tenure as head coach. He found a place in Rahul Dravid’s regime as well, and recently stepped down after Team India clinched the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“Rahul Dravid is the best coach I’ve worked with” – Vikram Rathour
The spotlight was equally bright on Rahul Dravid following the loss since he was the head coach. Since taking over from Ravi Shastri in late 2022, he guided the team into numerous semi-finals and finals of ICC events, but silverware continued to elude the nation.
Dravid’s contract had run through after the 2023 ODI World Cup final, but he signed an extension until the 2024 T20 World Cup, and the support staff also stayed on.
“Rahul is the best coach I’ve worked with. He has a great character and is good at what he does. He talks well, is very thorough, and is disciplined with his coaching. He took over when India was in a transition phase with significant challenges ahead. We were good friends. And we are even better friends now. The expectations were higher when he joined. He was calm and composed through these challenging times,” Rathour said.
While it was another opportunity lost for the Indian team to lift the title, Rohit Sharma’s men ensured they didn’t squander the T20 World Cup trophy in Barbados, enjoying an unbeaten run throughout the campaign to defeat South Africa in a dramatic final last month. Vikram Rathour is touted to be the next head of the NCA after VVS Laxman is looking to step down from the role in September.