Younis Khan joins pitch debate; slams it as 'not good advertisement for Test cricket'

"I don't think it was good advertisement for Test cricket in the recent India and South Africa series that the ball was turning from the first day onwards. The element of competition disappears on such pitches," Younis told PTI.

Younis’ comments come on the back of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) official warning to the pitch at Nagpur, which hosted the third Test between South Africa and India.

The veteran batsman also shrugged off people talking about different pitches in different countries by branding the pace friendly conditions in Australia, South Africa and England as ‘a thing of the past.’

"The pitches nowadays in these countries also are not the same as they were a decade or two ago. Look at Australia. You don't see the same pace or bounce, similarly in England not all pitches now have lot of seam movement."

The batsman, who recently retired from the ODIs after playing 265 matches for his country, also said that the upsurge of T20 leagues is leading to decline of quality players in Tests.

"Nowadays there are T20 leagues being played everywhere but the quality and big money is there only in IPL or perhaps the Big Bash. With so many leagues round the year, players are only focusing on this format and it is not good for Test or ODI cricket. There has been a decline in the growth of quality players because of this scenario," reported PTI.