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Team India captain Rohit Sharma took a dig at critics, who have often raised questions over spinning pitches in India, after the Cape Town Test against South Africa ended in a little over two days. The opening batter stated that he was okay with playing on surfaces like the one at Cape Town provided “everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and don't talk about Indian pitches”.
The visitors beat South Africa by seven wickets at Newlands in Cape Town in the second Test to square the two-match series 1-1. In the shortest-ever Test match in the history of the game, which lasted all of 642 balls, Team India bowled out the Proteas for a paltry 55 on Day 1 as Mohammed Siraj starred with 6/15.
South Africa fought hard with the ball, restricting India to 153, but the 98-run lead proved significant as the visitors only had to chase 79 runs in the fourth innings.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rohit raised questions about how Indian pitches are rated and urged the ICC to remain “neutral”. In the wake of the Indian captain’s frank views, we look back at three previous instances when an Indian player lashed out at pitch critics.
#1 “We lost in New Zealand in three days, no one wrote about the pitch” - Virat Kohli
Former India captain Virat Kohli had vehemently defended the pitches that were used for the 2021 home Tests against England. Spinners dominated the series as Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 32 wickets in eight innings and Axar Patel 27 in six. England’s left-arm spinner Jack Leach also claimed 18 wickets in seven innings.
Amid plenty of the talk over the pitches, Kohli, who was leading the side then, lashed out at critics and blamed poor batting for low scores produced during the series. He also questioned why nobody wrote about the pitches in New Zealand in 2020, where India lost a Test match in three days.
"We lost in New Zealand in three days. No one wrote about the pitch. It was all about how India played badly in New Zealand and none of the pitches were criticized. No one came and saw how much the pitch was doing and how much the ball was moving. Or how much grass was there on the pitch," Kohli was quoted as saying.
"Spinning tracks come into focus way more. When the ball seams on a particular wicket and a team gets bundled out for 40, 50, 60, no one writes about it. It is always called bad batting. We all need to be honest. What is the idea behind continuing this narrative and what purpose it serves," he questioned.
England won the first Test of the 2021 series in Chennai by 227 runs, but India hit back strongly to clinch the next three games by comprehensive margins.
#2 “What makes a good surface? Who defines this?” - Ravichandran Ashwin
Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been a vocal critic of those who have questioned spinning pitches prepared in India. He expressed disappointment at the backlash over surfaces after India beat England in Chennai and in the pink-ball game in Ahmedabad during the 2021 series.
During a virtual interaction, he took potshots at pitch critics and asked:
“What makes a good surface? Who defines this? Seam on the first day, then bat well then spin on the last two days. C’mon, who makes all these rules? We need to get over it and not talk about whatever picture you want to paint. And if you are asking if it was a good Test surface, I didn’t see any of the players coming from England having an issue with the surface. They want to improve.
“Why would you talk about the surface and sell that to us time and time again. Is there any instance where the surface has been spoken about in any other countries we played games in?” he pointed out.
Ashwin has a terrific Test record in India where he has claimed 337 wickets in 55 matches at an average of 20.87 with 26 five-wicket hauls.
#3 “Not a rank-turner at all” - Ravindra Jadeja on Nagpur surface for the 2023 Test against Australia
There was plenty of hue and cry over the surface used for the Nagpur Test between India and Australia in February 2023.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja claimed seven wickets in the match and Ashwin eight as India hammered Australia by an innings and 132 runs in what was the first Test of the series.
At a press conference after the end of Day 1 of the Test, Jadeja rubbished all claims of the pitch being doctored and being termed a rank turner.
Countering the argument, he said:
"No no, this is not a rank-turner at all. There is less bounce and the wicket is slow compared to other pitches in India. It was not difficult to defend today. As the Test match progresses, we might see more turn but that is natural everywhere.”
Like Ashwin, Jadeja also has a fantastic Test record in India, having claimed 194 wickets in 40 matches at an average of 20.45 with 10 five-wicket hauls.
