Last Updated: March 04, 2023, 08:55 AM IST
Rohit Sharma condemns the talks around the pitch
Indian captain Rohit Sharma silenced the critics, saying that none of those former cricketers ever played on pitches like this
Australia bounced back in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 on Friday, defeating India by 9 wickets in the Indore Test. The game ended within slightly over two days, bringing the track at the Holkar Stadium under the scanner. In fact, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has given a poor rating to the pitch while the Holkar Stadium has received three demerit points.
The Australian cricket fraternity took multiple shots at the pitch that saw 14 wickets falling on Day 1 and 16 on the second day. Moreover, neither side managed more than 200 runs in an innings. The talks began right from the opening day of the Indore Test when India suffered a horrendous collapse. However, the Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma, silenced the critics, saying that none of those former cricketers ever played on pitches like this.
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“Former cricketers did not play on pitches like this. So, I don’t know. As I said, this is the kind of pitch we wanted to play in and this is our strength. When you play at home, you want to play to your strength and not worry about what people outside are speaking about. And had we not gotten results, we would have thought otherwise,” Rohit said at the post-match presser on Friday.
The Indian captain further expressed his displeasure over the talks around the Indian tracks. He strictly said he would rather like to talk about Nathan Lyon’s 13 wickets in the game or the knocks played by the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Usman Khawaja.
“This pitch talk is getting too much. Every time we play in India, the focus is only on the pitch. Why are people not asking me about Nathan Lyon and how well he bowled? Or, how well Pujara batted in the second innings? Or, how well Usman Khawaja played? Those are the things I can give you details on, but not on the pitch because it is absolutely not necessary,” Rohit added.
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While Australia have qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) finals, India will need to win the fourth and the final Test in Ahmedabad, starting March 9.
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