Rohit Sharma overcoming the criticism on the second Test Pitch stating that favourable pitches for the home side is the whole point of the home advantage. Though he was not a part of the Pink Ball Day- Night test in Adelaide, where the Indians were all-out for 36 runs in second innings. From the experience of playing against Bangladesh in India’s first ever Day/Night Test in Nov’19. Though he didn’t bat during the twilight period but still he suggests to be calm and patient so that the batsman can score easily.
“So far I have only heard about the pink ball playing on the minds of the batsman. I played only one pink ball test but didn’t bat during twilight. Heard from the players that its quite challenging. All you need is to be extra cautious. ” Rohit said in a virtual interview in Ahmedabad.
“All our batters are aware that it is important to keep themselves calm and patient by talking to themselves while starting second session. Either we are closing in or starting it, we just need to mindful”
Rohit said that the team likes to operate as a group and they have dedicated certain roles to the players to execute.
“We like to work as a group. When we play the game, we understand what is happening and what can happen in the game. The bowlers are always in the mind set of getting the batsman out.”
“The senior players communicate with each other and discuss the information we get being on slips and pass it to the bowlers and also young players. Even an experienced player like Ishan Sharma also need a little thought on what is exactly happening or helping”
“It is because of communication, Team has come out of many difficult situations. We are trying and have done plenty of times, whatever helps the team”
Rohit didn’t agree to the former cricketers who termed that the wicket was not ideal for Test cricket, saying that it was same for both the teams and when wickets are seaming from first ball in foreign countries, no one seems to complain much.
“The pitch remains the same for both the teams. Every country takes advantage of home conditions. If you don’t want that, the similar pitches should be prepared everywhere. It is pointless to talk about pitches, rather we talk about the game and the players involved.”
“Whichever teams performs the best, they will win. As a batsman too, I really don’t care about it. So you just work on yourself, think about the technique and give your best and not think about the pitch too much”
“There are several aspiring cricketers but we all are here, so we shouldn’t worry about the pitch or something, we just need to perform our best and keep our skillset high. Whenever we go outside India, we don’t talk about pitches, so everyone should do the same, including our experts.”
By Aishwarya Choudhury
