Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has taken strong exception to what he termed as double standards in the global discourse of cricket pitches. His remark comes after Lord's Cricket Ground received an ICC demerit point after the pitch used in the first Test match between England and New Zealand was rated as "poor". The ICC penalized the Lord's pitch following the match as, a number of wickets fell and it was difficult to score runs. It was the first such penalty for the Lord's cricket ground. An ICC demerit point is active for five years, after which if the ground accumulates six points during that span of time, it may be banned for a year from international cricket. Gavaskar cited the incident as a medium to ask as to why there were few complaints about the Lord's pitch as against the reactions that typically surface on days when pitches in India suit the spinners. Gavaskar Questions Reactions to Lord's Pitch In his column for Mid-Day, Gavaskar had this to say about the reactions of critics to the Lord's pitch compared to that of Indian pitches: Sunil Gavaskar wrote: "Even as Day One of the only Test between India and Afghanistan gets underway, the first Test between England and New Zealand is finishing with a whimper. Thirty-three wickets have fallen on the first two days at Lord's, the home of English cricket, yet there's hardly any word of rebuke from all those who make a career out of having a go at Indian pitches." He added: "Yes sir, no former player and none of the wordsmiths from the old powers have had much to say. After all, it's inept batting and nothing to do with the pitch, isn't it? If you can't play the moving ball on a cow grazing field masquerading as a cricket pitch, why blame the playing area?" He goes on to give examples about the typical criticisms aimed at Indian surfaces which aid spin: "But lo and behold, if the pitch affords spin from Day One in India, these very guys will be the ones doing their cardio, jumping up and down and calling it a dust bowl and what not. Not a word about technique and ability. Hypocrites masquerading as experts, that's what they are." Also Read | Breaking: Ben Stokes Out of Second New Zealand Test, Joe Root Returns as England Captain BCCI, IPL and the Revenue Debate Gavaskar also justified the BCCI's stance and put forth the benefits the other foreign boards get from the IPL. He wrote: "Indian cricket and BCCI bashing is par for the course. But when it comes to revenues, they still have to come to the BCCI because it is Indian cricket and Indian fans that fill their coffers much more than even what their traditional rivalry does." Former India batter then drew parallels with other franchise tournaments world-over. "Cribbing about the IPL and their players not being available for their country is another favourite pastime. Not a word though about the 10% their Boards get of the fee of every player from their country. It adds up to a cool million-plus pounds every year." He further added: "Does The Hundred give any percentage to the Boards of their overseas players playing in their tournament? No sir. Does the BBL or any other country's T20 leagues give any percentage to the Boards of their overseas players? No sir again. Only the IPL does. Yet the whinging and moaning about BCCI and Indian cricket just goes on and on. Wake up and smell the coffee, guys. Indian cricket is here to stay, no matter how you try to pull it down."