No need for skipper Rohit Sharma’s rhetoric on former Indian cricketers

Perhaps, being overfed on white-ball cricket has negated the skills of the Indians where the converts -- Aussies -- have walked away with their heads in the air.


No need for skipper Rohit Sharma’s rhetoric on former Indian cricketers

Rohit Sharma

Team India Skipper Rohit Sharma has been sucked into the vortex again. This time, it is his own creation by commenting previous greats have not batted on a track like the one witnessed in Indore where the Aussies fashioned a nine-wicket win in the BGT Series third Test on Thursday.

It is one thing to admit the Indians were outplayed and quite another to be cocky in comments. “Former cricketers, I don’t think they’ve played on pitches like these. Honestly speaking, this is the kind of pitches we want to play, this is our strength, When you play at home, you play to your strength,” said Rohit on Thursday.

The Indian leader, who hails from the same city as SMG — Sunil Manohar Gavaskar — would do well to go to YouTube and open the evergreen video of Gavaskar batting on a treacherous track at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in his last innings against Pakistan in 1987 in Bangalore. That was not a pitch, it was a minefield, where Sunny Gavaskar showed application, technique, footwork, and how to bat against wily spinners like Tauseeh Ahmed and Iqbal Qasim.

Compared to those spinners, what the Aussies have brought here are not even replicas, barring Nathan Lyon. For Rohit and his mates to collapse against relative novices with the ball who are tweakers — Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann — is abject surrender. Right through the series, barring Rohit’s hundred in the first Test in Nagpur, the top order has struggled. The irony is the Aussie batters have learned to tackle spin and attack. That s what Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne showed.

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Rohit Sharma has the gall to say playing on these tracks is India’s strength

Rohit Sharma
IND vs AUS

Perhaps, the Indian skipper needs to be reminded he had won the toss and batted first in Indore. If he had asked for a turner to be prepared, this one in Indore was something like a dirt track. That the Indians could not bat on it was a reflection of their lack of application and skill. They were exposed by the Aussie spinners, and Rohit has the gall to say playing on these tracks is India’s strength.

Agreed, batters like Virat Kohli know how to bat against spin but the way Rohit, partner Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and company fell in two innings was a tragic comedy. There is no way Rohit can say former Indian cricketers have not batted on pitches like these. The previous generations knew how to play spin, bat, and pad close together, using feet and how to negotiate vicious spin. Perhaps, being overfed on white-ball cricket has negated the skills of the Indians where the converts — Aussies — have walked away with their heads in the air. For Steve Smith to lead this side was special and he showed great character.

Sample this, the Aussies are through to the ICC World Test Championship final. India will have to do well in the final Test in Ahmedabad, and hopefully win it. Or else, making the World final could depend on the outcome of the series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. It will be interesting to see how the Indian think-tank talks to the curator in Ahmedabad. This Indian bunch is pathetic against spin. Unless, they prepare a belter, which again can be dangerous. Green top? No way!

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