Indian captain Rohit Sharma did not go easy with ICC after the test match between India and South Africa ended in just 2 days. He also criticized match officials for their double standards, saying that when matches end quickly in India, they rate pitches wrong.
The second Test between India and South Africa ended in just 4 and a half sessions, with the Rohit Sharma-led team winning by 7 wickets. The pitch at Newlands Park in Cape Town was terrible for the batsmen as both teams got out early.
The pitch had unchanged bounce and pace, so South Africa were bowled out for just 55 runs in the first innings. If that wasn’t enough, the visitors went all out with 153 runs. A similar story unfolded in the second innings with neither team breaking the 200 mark, reflecting the type of surface it was.
Both teams also had spinners in the XI, but they did not get a chance to bowl. On day 1 of the game as many as 23 wickets fell.
Rohit Sharma, while talking about the pitch, said that he does not mind playing on such pitches as long as people keep their mouths shut in India and do not criticize Indian pitches. He stressed on the fact that people should make the case that Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game and not include pitching in conversations. During the press conference, he explained:
“I mean, we saw what happened in this game, how the field was played and things like that. Honestly, I don’t mind playing courses like this. Honestly, as long as everyone keeps their mouths shut in India and doesn’t talk too much about Indian releases.
“Why do you come here?” [in Test cricket] to challenge yourself. If it is dangerous. It is a challenge. So when people come to India, it is also quite challenging. Look, when you’re here to play Test cricket, we talk about Test cricket being the ultimate prize, Test cricket being the pinnacle and things like that. “I think it’s important that we support that as well.”
Rohit Sharma further lashed out at the governing body, saying that it is important that they remain neutral in pitching ratings everywhere. He pointed out how people litter the field when the ball starts turning from Day 1 in India. He added:
“When you face a challenge like that, you face it. That’s what happens in India, but, in India, on the first day, if the tone starts to change, people start talking about ‘Dust dust!’ Puff of dust!’ There is a lot of crack here in the field. People aren’t looking at that. I think it’s important that we stay neutral wherever we go. Especially the match officials. You know, some of these match officials have to keep an eye on how they score pitches. “It’s pretty important.”
IND vs SA: Match officials must keep their eyes and ears open – Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma further attacked the match officials, saying that he could not believe that they gave a below-average rating to the ICC World Cup 2023 pitch. He criticized the umpires, saying that they should rate the pitches based on what they see and not based in countries.
Rohit Sharma added that everyone wants to play on challenging pitches but ICC and umpires should be neutral. He explained:
“I still can’t believe that the pitch for the World Cup final was rated below average. One batsman scored a hundred in the final. How can that be a bad pitch? So these are the things that the ICC, the match officials, need to look at and start grading pitches based on what they see, not based on countries. I think that’s pretty important.
“So I hope they keep their ears open, their eyes open and look at those aspects of the game. Honestly, I’m all for releases like this. We want to challenge playing on courses like this. We are proud to play on fields like this. Uh, but all I want to say is be neutral.”
The test series between India and South Africa ended in a draw. This was the first time since 2010 that India drew a series in South Africa.
