Rohit Sharma criticises ICC match referees for perceived double standards in pitch ratings

At Cape Town, India beat South Africa in a little over four sessions on a pitch that was extremely difficult to bat on. Only two South Africans reached double figures in the first innings of 55, and only four – including an aberration of a hundred by Aiden Markram – in the second.

India fared little better in the first innings, setting a world record by losing six wickets for no run. Only three men got to ten, though they secured a lead of 98.

At 107 overs, this is the shortest Test in history. At a bowling strike rate of 20, this was also the one where wickets fell most often. It was an atypical contest on a pitch where the curator had kept some grass to prevent premature cracks.

I feel for Braam Mong. This is the first international pitch he has prepared at Newlands. Conditions have been scorching, so he decided to leave extra grass on to ensure that the cracks on the pitch don't open up early. It backfired

Hopefully he gets a chance to redeem himself

— Werner (@Werries_) January 4, 2024

At the post-match press conference, Indian captain Rohit Sharma said he didn’t have an issue with the conditions at Newlands, but was strong in his criticism of the ICC match referees and wat he perceived as double standards in ratings of Indian pitches: “We saw what happened in this match, how the pitch played, and stuff like that. I honestly don’t mind playing on pitches like this. As long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and don’t talk too much about Indian pitches, honestly.

“You come here to challenge yourself. Yes, it is dangerous, it is challenging. So … 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 cracks here on the pitch, people are not looking at that.”

Rohit was particularly harsh on the ICC match referees for their ratings of Indian pitches: “I think it’s important that we stay neutral everywhere we go, Especially the match referees. You know, some of these match referees need to keep their eye on how they rate pitches. It’s quite important.

“I still can’t believe that the World Cup final pitch was rated ‘below average’ [the actual rating was ‘average’]. A batsman [Travis Head] got a hundred there in the final. How can that be a poor pitch?

“These are the things the ICC, the match referees, they need to look into and start rating pitches based on what they see, not based on the countries. I think that’s quite important.

“I hope they keep their ears open, they keep their eyes open and look into those aspects of the game. Honestly, I’m all for pitches like this. We want to challenge playing on pitches like this. We pride ourselves playing on pitches like this. But all I want to say is – be neutral.

“Honestly, I would like to see how the pitches are rated. That chart? I would love to see it, how they rate the pitches, because Mumbai, Bangalore, Cape Town, Centurion, all different venues. Overhead conditions are different. The pitches deteriorate quite fast when the sun is beating down that hard on the pitch.

“We know that the conditions in India will spin without a doubt, but obviously people don’t like it because it spins from day one. But that’s not the point. If the ball seams from ball one, that’s okay, right, for everyone? That’s not fair. The ball starts spinning from ball one, it should be okay, in my opinion.

“Otherwise, you stay neutral, and you start rating these kind of pitches also bad, because if you want the ball only to seam and not turn, in my opinion, that is absolutely wrong.

“That’s my judgment, that’s my opinion on it. I’ll stick by it because I’ve seen enough of cricket now and I’ve seen enough of how these match referees and the ICC looks into these ratings. I have no issues in how they want to rate, but stay neutral to everything that you do.”