Rahul Dravid has voiced his displeasure with the two "average" pitch ratings that have been handed out by ICC match referees in the first 11 days of the 2023 ODI World Cup.

India bowled out their opponents Australia and Pakistan for less than 200 runs on two average pitches. At the end of the match, the ICC recognized the pitch as of average quality.

In the press conference before the match against New Zealand, India coach Rahul Dravid said, "If you want to only see 350-run matches and rate only those pitches as good, then I disagree with that," Dravid said before India's clash against New Zealand in Dharamsala. "You have to see different skills on display as well. If you wanted to only see fours and sixes being hit, then we have T20 for that. Why do we need anything else?

According to Dravid, "There are skills on display on 350 wickets also. That's fine on that particular day. But in the first few games when it spins a little bit or something happens that brings the bowlers into the game, and you start rating pitches as average, where does it leave the bowlers? Why are they coming then? Play two T20 matches then. We need to have a better way of deciding what is good or average."

There is no penalty for pitches rated 'average' or below. A venue ban is possible only if the pitch receives a bad or inappropriate rating. The rest of the matches till 15 October were rated 'good' or 'very good'. 

Dravid advises players to play on different pitches to improve their skills. Dravid added, "There will be some good wickets and games that are high-scoring. And there will be other games where the ball turns, and others where it seems a little bit. You've got a long tournament, and you're playing in India in different parts of the country. There will be different wickets and different challenges. Teams that are able to cope with all those challenges are the ones that will end up being successful."