The BCCI-IIT Powai tie-up for soil testing might have just provided the answer to the long standing question about Indian pitches lacking in pace and bounce. IIT Powai scientists have concluded that the soil used in preparing most of the pitches round the country don’t have the right content to provide conditions that would pacers. Prof Shetty did confirm the IIT findings but said that they were not conclusive as in some cases the sample collection has been faulty. “Some centres didn’t send the soil sample from the pitch itself but the loose material that was used in the preparation. This makes a big difference because while making a pitch a lot of things besides the original soil are used,” he said. Shetty informed that this March, they would once again sent the soil samples for analysis.
