India captain Rohit Sharma believes there should be a review of how Test pitches are rated, as he believes his country gets unfair criticism over its tracks back home.
Sharma spoke out after his side’s seven-wicket win over hosts South Africa on a seaming surface with variable bounce at Newlands, which he described as “dangerous”.
India completed their victory on Thursday inside two days in the shortest-ever completed Test, having set the tone when they bowled the home side out for 55 before lunch on day one.
With variable bounce and sideways movement through the four-and-a-half sessions, Rohit called the conditions dangerous, but added he had no problem playing on such surfaces as long as it was accepted Indian pitches will turn from day one.
“I don’t mind being on pitches like this as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and no-one is talking about the pitches there,” Rohit told reporters.
“Yes, it is dangerous, but you come here (South Africa) to challenge yourself and you must face up to it.”
Rohit believes there is inconsistency in the way match referees rate pitches in different countries.
“In India, when it turns on day one, people say, ‘Oh, there is a puff of dust’. We need to stay neutral, especially match referees. I would love to see how the pitches are rated.
“I still can’t believe the World Cup final pitch (in Ahmedabad) was rated below standard.
“A player (Australia’s Travis Head) got a hundred there. They must rate pitches based on what they see, not based on countries.”
Rohit added there should be no difference in the rating of a pitch based on spin or seam on day one.
“We know pitches in India will spin but people don’t like it because it turns from ball one. But if it seams from ball one, that is OK? That is not fair.”
Rohit believes the nature of the wicket made their Cape Town win even more special.
“When we saw how the pitch played in the first session, we knew it would not be a high scoring game,” he said. “All we wanted to do was stay disciplined in how we bowled and not get ahead of ourselves.
“We also spoke to the batters and said we needed small contributions in the game. Apply yourself, if you get hit on the body it’s fine.”
After the victory, Sharma presented opposition skipper Dean Elgar with a shirt signed by all the Indian players following the South African’s final Test.