India captain Rohit Sharma on Thursday told critics of sub-continent pitches to “keep their mouths shut”, blasting what he believes are double standards in the sport.
Sharma, speaking after his team achieved the quickest win in Test history, said there needed to be consistency in how pitches were rated by match referees.
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India beat South Africa by seven wickets in the second Test at Newlands in a match which took only 107 overs and was completed on the second afternoon.
Conditions were treacherous for batsmen from the first morning when South Africa were bowled out for 55 on a surface which had inconsistent bounce as well as pace and considerable seam movement.
“We saw what happened in this match, how the pitch played,” said Sharma.
“I honestly don’t mind playing on pitches like this as long as everyone keeps their mouths shut in India and don’t talk too much about Indian pitches.
“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.”
“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.”
Sharma said he still couldn’t believe that the pitch for last year’s World Cup final in Ahmedabad — where his team were defeated by Australia — was rated below average.
“The ICC, the match referees, need to start rating pitches on what they see, not based on the countries. Honestly I would like to see how the pitches are rated.”
Sharma said it was a reality that pitches in India tended to help spin bowling but this seemed to be more of an issue than excessive seam movement. He urged match referees to “stay neutral”.
Chris Broad was the match referee for the Test and his rating on the pitch will have to be submitted to the International Cricket Council before it is made public.
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