XtraTime Web Desk – The pitch was once again a talking point in the press conference. Like Ravichandran Ashwin or Rohit Sharma, this time Ajinkya Rahane hit it for a six when a Journalist asked about Rahane’s inputs. “See, let people speak what they want to. The wickets, when we tour abroad, no one speaks about how seaming they are. They always speak about the technique of the Indian batsmen, I don’t feel we need to take seriously what people say”.
Rahane added, “You see, when we tour abroad, the first day wicket is damp. When wicket becomes grassy and behaves up and down, then the pitch becomes dangerous but we haven’t complained about it or we have never spoken about it”.
Rahane also gave an update how the pitch will be in the fourth test. “I think the wicket will be similar to the second Test match in Chennai, spinning track. Yes, pink ball made the difference and it came much quicker off the wicket compared to red ball and we had to make adjustments”.
Veteran Indian pacer, Ishant Sharma few days back stated that winning the World Test Championship final is like winning the World Cup. On Tuesday, Ajinkya Rahane agreed with Ishant Sharma and added, “Absolutely, Ishant was spot on in what he said. Winning the WTC is equal to winning the World Cup. We are all focusing on that, having said that, the focus right now is to play the fourth Test against England. Ishant was completely right”.
There has been a lot of controversy in the cricketing world following the third test between India and England. Many legends of the game expressed their sorrow after the match was over in just 2 days. Rahane gave his input saying, “When you play on spinning tracks, you have to play the line and you know that. In India, we haven’t played so many games in the last two-three years. When you play on those spinning and seaming wickets, it’s all about playing the line, when the ball is spinning too much, you do not have to think about it, you just have to play the line, if you miss the ball, you miss the ball. Backing your defence and ability on seaming and spinning wicket is something we follow”.
The deputy of Indian team isn’t concerned about his own form as well. When asked about his poor form, Rahane said, “You need to check your facts right. You know my contribution for the team. Whenever the teams needed runs, my runs were there. So, you need to focus on your facts. I am a team man, everyone knows that. Whenever the team needs to perform in that particular situation, I’ve always done that”.
He also hinted that Umesh Yadav can replace Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth test. He said, “Umesh is ready to go. Looking good and had a good session at the nets. We are really happy that he is back”.
Dale Steyn on Tuesday made a remark that PSL or Sri Lankan Premier League is more rewarding than that of IPL. Rahane replied to Steyn’s statement saying, “We are here to talk about the Test match. We are not here to talk about PSL or Sri Lankan Premier League. IPL gave us the platform to express ourselves. To a lot of Indians and overseas players. I am not sure about what Dale Steyn said”.