Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin said he was disappointed to see batsmen “come a cropper” in the third Test between India and England in Ahmedabad, which ended in a 10-wicket win for India on Thursday. “The key to batting on such dry tracks and rank turners is shot-selection and assured footwork,” he wrote in a tweet. The former Hyderabad batsman and current president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association also implored players to use rubber soles instead of spikes while batting. 

I have seen some amazing Test knocks being played on tough surfaces by batsmen who wore shoes with rubber soles.The argument that batsmen can slip when running between wickets is countered by the fact that in Wimbledon,all tennis players wear shoes with rubber soles(2/3)

— Mohammed Azharuddin (@azharflicks) February 26, 2021

“It makes little sense to wear spikes when batting. Rubber soles don’t hamper ability of batsmen,” he tweeted. 

“I have seen some amazing Test knocks being played on tough surfaces by batsmen who wore shoes with rubber soles. The argument that batsmen can slip when running between wickets is countered by the fact that in Wimbledon, all tennis players wear shoes with rubber soles,” he added in another tweet. 

Using examples of cricketers who have played with rubber soles in their shoes, Azharuddin tweeted: “The ones that come to mind are not just Indians like Sunil Gavaskar Mohinder Amarnath and Dilip Vengsarkar but also many a visiting batsman like Sir Vivian Richards, Mike Gatting Allan Border, Clive Lloyd and several others.” 

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The pitch used in the recently concluded Ahmedabad Test came under scrutiny from several players after the match ended inside two days with none of the teams managing to cross 150 runs. 

While India captain Virat Kohli blamed poor application by batsmen for the string of low scores, Kohli’s former India teammate Yuvraj Singh as well as former England captain Michael Vaughan questioned the appreciable turn offered by the wicket.