South Africa vs India

Rohit Sharma calls for nations to take collective responsibility to safeguard Test Cricket

Smarting from a drubbing in the first Test at Centurion, India heads to Newlands Cape Town today, their resolve hardened by the desire to level the series against the Proteas. Coming in with dreams of conquering the “final frontier” – a Test series win in South Africa – India received a harsh reality check as the home team asserted their dominance in familiar conditions.

The South African bowling attack shone brightly, as the Indian batters apart from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, struggled to adapt to the challenging Centurion pitch. Later, the South African batters demonstrated that runs were indeed attainable with focused application.

India has been a proud Test team for a long time now and so, they will be raring to come back strongly at Newlands. Speaking on the eve of the Test match, Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma has backed his side and insisted that the performance last week was an aberration rather than a cause for concern. He specifically mentioned the likes of Shubman Gill and Prasidh Krishna. While Gill has not found his feet in the longest format yet, Krishna’s initiation into the format last week, was far from ideal.

“Shubman Gill prefers to bat at No. 3, he feels that he can do well for us in that position and we back him to do well. I have faith in Prasidh Krishna and believe that he has the abilities to succeed at this level”, he said.

“It is the responsibility of all nations”: Rohit Sharma

The shadow of Test cricket’s future loomed large at the press conference, amplified by South Africa’s recent selection gambit – prioritizing their domestic T20 league over seasoned players for the series. When questioned about this, Rohit Sharma took a firm stance, emphasizing the collective responsibility of cricketing nations to nurture and protect the legacy of Test cricket. “Test Cricket is something we have to protect and it is the responsibility of every nation to keep it nice, healthy & entertaining,” he said.

Rohit’s statement is important because at the moment it seems like only four countries- India, Australia, England and New Zealand are truly interested in keeping the format alive.