'Angry' Rohit Sharma wants 'mouths shut' on Indian pitches; 5 statements made by Indian skipper after Cape Town drama-
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Rohit Sharma & Co defeated South Africa by seven wickets to register their maiden Test victory at Cape Town. However, he did not hesitate to bash the critics who "chattered" about the pitch.
Notably, this came after 23 wickets fell inside two days on the Newlands wicket.
The second Test, which lasted only 107 overs, became the shortest-ever Test match in its 147-year history. Within the four-and-a-half-sessions, several unusual bizarre scenes took place. Mohammed Siraj picked up 6/15 to skittle South Africa for 55. On the other hand, India, from 153/4, lost the next six wickets without a run added. Dean Elgar, Tristan Stubbs and Tony de Zorzi got out twice on the same day. Stunning.
A visibly furious Rohit pointed out that while he and the Indian team had absolutely no issues playing on such pitches, he wants the onlookers to 'keep their mouths shut' while talking about matches being played on Indian soil.
It is pertinent to mention that the Indore pitch on which the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was played last year was given a 'below-average' rating by the ICC and even the surface in Ahmedabad, on which the World Cup final was played on deemed 'average'. So clearly, Rohit did not hold back because the so-called critics pointed fingers only on India and its pitches and those pitches of other countries go unnoticed. He also criticised ICC for this.
1. "I mean, we saw what happened in this match, how the pitch played and stuff like that. I honestly don't mind playing on pitches like this. As long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and don't talk too much about Indian pitches, honestly".
3. "When you are put up against, a challenge like that, you come and face it. That's what happens in India, but, in India on day one, if the pitch starts turning, people start talking about 'Puff of dust! Puff of dust!' There's so much crack here on the pitch. People are not looking at that."
4. "I think it's important that we stay neutral everywhere we go. Especially the match referees. You know, some of these match referees need to keep their eye on how they rate pitches. It's quite important. I still can't believe that the World Cup final pitch was rated below average. A batsman got a hundred there in the final. How can that be a poor pitch? So these are the things the ICC, the match referees, they need to look into and start rating pitches based on what they see, not based on the countries. I think that's quite important".
5. "So I hope they keep their ears open, they keep their eyes open and look into those aspects of the game. Honestly, I'm all for pitches like this. We want to challenge playing on pitches like this. We pride ourselves playing on pitches like this. Uh, but all I wanna say is be neutral."
Notably, this came after 23 wickets fell inside two days on the Newlands wicket.
India scripts history!
The second Test, which lasted only 107 overs, became the shortest-ever Test match in its 147-year history. Within the four-and-a-half-sessions, several unusual bizarre scenes took place. Mohammed Siraj picked up 6/15 to skittle South Africa for 55. On the other hand, India, from 153/4, lost the next six wickets without a run added. Dean Elgar, Tristan Stubbs and Tony de Zorzi got out twice on the same day. Stunning.
But what made Rohit furious?
A visibly furious Rohit pointed out that while he and the Indian team had absolutely no issues playing on such pitches, he wants the onlookers to 'keep their mouths shut' while talking about matches being played on Indian soil.
It is pertinent to mention that the Indore pitch on which the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was played last year was given a 'below-average' rating by the ICC and even the surface in Ahmedabad, on which the World Cup final was played on deemed 'average'. So clearly, Rohit did not hold back because the so-called critics pointed fingers only on India and its pitches and those pitches of other countries go unnoticed. He also criticised ICC for this.
1. "I mean, we saw what happened in this match, how the pitch played and stuff like that. I honestly don't mind playing on pitches like this. As long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and don't talk too much about Indian pitches, honestly".
2. "Because you come here [in Test cricket] to challenge yourself. Yes, it is dangerous. It is challenging. So, and when people come to India, it is again pretty challenging as well. Look, when you are here to play Test cricket, we talk about Test cricket, the ultimate prize, Test cricket being the pinnacle and stuff like that. I think it's important that we also stand by it."
Captain Rohit Sharma single handedly destroying all the pitch experts of ICC.
— 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝕏 (@ImHydro45) January 5, 2024
Imagine this guy in UPSC interview ! 😭 pic.twitter.com/aifjL9ICQd
3. "When you are put up against, a challenge like that, you come and face it. That's what happens in India, but, in India on day one, if the pitch starts turning, people start talking about 'Puff of dust! Puff of dust!' There's so much crack here on the pitch. People are not looking at that."
4. "I think it's important that we stay neutral everywhere we go. Especially the match referees. You know, some of these match referees need to keep their eye on how they rate pitches. It's quite important. I still can't believe that the World Cup final pitch was rated below average. A batsman got a hundred there in the final. How can that be a poor pitch? So these are the things the ICC, the match referees, they need to look into and start rating pitches based on what they see, not based on the countries. I think that's quite important".
5. "So I hope they keep their ears open, they keep their eyes open and look into those aspects of the game. Honestly, I'm all for pitches like this. We want to challenge playing on pitches like this. We pride ourselves playing on pitches like this. Uh, but all I wanna say is be neutral."