Virat Kohli comes down heavily on pitch critics

India captain Virat Kohli thinks that people should refrain from indulging in excessive debates over spin friendly wickets in the subcontinent, and accept the fact that spin is an important factor during Test matches in this part of the world.

"Let me ask you a question - do we play matches so that they last 5 days or do we play to win?

"We lost in New Zealand inside 3 days. No one said anything about the pitch back then. Our strength is we focus on ourselves and not the pitch. We need to be honest with ourselves about this narrative (of spinning tracks)," Kohli said on the eve of the fourth Test against England.

The third Test between the two countries played at the same venue resulted in a two-day finish, and also became one of the shortest Test matches played ever in the history of the game.

But the Indian captain thinks that the media should present a fair view that such tracks are normal in the subcontinent.

"I believe there is too much noise about spinning tracks. Our media should present the view that spinning tracks are fine in the subcontinent. The reason behind our success as a team is that we haven't cribbed about any surface we have played on. We have always tried to improve," the India captain added.

The skipper minced no words as he termed it a case of batsmen not adapting well to the conditions rather than pitch being unplayable. "No clue why the focus is so much on the ball or the pitch. Neither sides batsmen were good enough to tackle the pitch in 3rd Test. I maintain it was a case of the skill on display rather than the pitch being a bad one."

The last Test between India and England kicks off tomorrow in Ahmedabad.