Owner of ball manufacturer Sanspareils Greenlands defends his product following criticism by skipper Virat Kohli and lead spinner R Ashwin after first Test
Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah discuss the condition of the ball with umpire Nitin Menon during the first Test. Pic/BCCI
Sanspareils Greenlands, the cricket equipment giants, whose balls were criticised by Virat Kohli after India lost the first Test to England in Chennai earlier this week, is not in panic mode. SG’s owner Paras Anand told mid-day on the eve of the second Test that the ball and the seam may have been affected by the hardness of the Chennai pitch.
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SG owner Paras Anand
“The quality of balls honestly wasn’t something that we were pleased to see because that has been the issue in the past as well. Just for the ball to get destroyed in 60 overs is not something that you experience as a Test side and it is not something any Test side could be prepared for. That was the reality of the first two days. But having said that, it is no excuse. England played better than us, they deserved it [to win],” Kohli said after the 227-run loss.
However, SG’s owner Paras Anand told mid-day on Friday: “The SG company has been supplying balls to the BCCI for the last 28 years and nobody has complained about the product before.”
Anand explained the process involved before the balls are made available for matches. “We are not in a panic situation. It has also been reported that the ball was affected due to the hardness of the wicket [at Chennai]. We have a ground adjacent to the factory [at Meerut] where we test the condition of the ball after 60 to 70 overs. Before the final product [is delivered] we organise rigorous tests at various stages.
“We are interested in finding out the reasons behind the allegations against the product. We would like to talk to Team India bowlers on this issue. We would like to gather their suggestions on this issue and we’ll try to implement them ASAP if necessary but not immediately,” Anand stressed.
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