'Who is complaining?': Sunil Gavaskar calls out 'double standard' with Perth pitch rating

New Delhi:

The stage is set for the second Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 series. Australia and England, after a two-day series opener in Perth, will next take on each other at the Gabba for a pink ball Test match from December 4. The first Test of the series saw Australia register a dominant eight-wicket victory, as they made quick work of the visitors. 

After the game, the ICC (International Cricket Council) gave its pitch rating for the pitch in Perth. Despite the clash ending within two days, the pitch was rated ‘very good’ by the ICC. 

Speaking on the same, former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar came forward and slammed the double standards. He pointed out that a century by Travis Head ruled out every possibility of the pitch being bad. 

"Mind you, 13 wickets fell on day two also, but that century (Head's) took away any chance of the pitch being rated ‘s**t’ by anybody else. That century wasn’t always with what you would call Test match strokes and was more like white-ball cricket shots, but hey, who is complaining? Not the old powers, for sure,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

"Their narrative that a pitch with bounce and danger to life and limb is never bad, but that a pitch where the ball turns and keeps low is a disgrace, is sadly still believed even by the complexed ones in the sub-continent,” he added. 

Gavaskar also pointed out the double standards while rating batters

Furthermore, Gavaskar also pointed out the double standards when rating batting from the subcontinent and those from outside. 

"They will rate a batter only if he scores tons on pacy, bouncy pitches, but if a batter from their part of the world doesn’t get a century in the sub-continent, he will still be called great. aving played a bit of cricket myself, I can say that batting against pace requires just two movements, forward or back,” Gavaskar said.