Everyone Deserves Home Advantage: Joe Root

England Test captain Joe Root has thrown his weight behind Indian opener Rohit Sharma regarding his comments on the pitch controversy that hogged the limelight during the second Test at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai last week.

The pitch dished out in the second Test at the Chepauk became a center of discussion from pretty much the first morning when the ball started to take an appreciable turn.

Following criticism by the likes of Michael Vaughan, David Lloyd, Mark Waugh, and a whole host of foreign cricketers, Rohit Sharma, who smashed a match-defining 161 on the first day, was asked about his views on the pitch in the virtual press-conference ahead of the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad.

And, just like the second Test where he took the English bowlers to the cleaners, Rohit Sharma did the same with the pitch critics. The Indian opener said that all the discussions should be around the performance of teams and players and not the pitch, which he said was the same for both sides.

Sharma further added that using home advantage is every team’s right while reminding everyone about the conditions that Team India encounters when they travel overseas.

”When we travel overseas no one thinks about us, so why should we think about them? The ICC should do one thing- they should remove the home and away concept and make a rule that the pitches should be of a certain manner. We never complain about the pitches that are dished out to us when we play overseas,” said Rohit Sharma.

“The pitch is the same for both teams. So I don’t know why there’s so much talk about the pitch. People say that the pitch shouldn’t be a certain type of way, but they have been like this in India for years. Every team plays to their strengths at home, and similarly, we do what our team prefers in India.” Rohit Sharma added.

‘Different conditions is what makes Test cricket very special’- Joe Root

England captain Joe Root echoed Rohit Sharma’s comments on the eve of the third Test. Root said that every nation deserves to use the conditions to its advantage and for a touring side, countering different conditions that they come up against,  is what makes Test cricket such a beautiful game.

“Everyone deserves home advantage, I do believe that. Wherever you go in the world, it’s going to be difficult and I quite like that. It’s one of the intricacies of Test cricket and makes it such a beautiful game. You’re going to have to have a well-rounded squad of players,” Joe Root was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“How different Tests in England, Australia and India can be, is what makes it very special. What makes touring the world so interesting is you have those different challenges and, if you want to be successful, you have to have an abundance of skills to manage wherever you go.’; he added.

England was hammered by a margin of 317 runs in the second Test but Joe Root refused to pin the blame on the conditions that were on offer. He acknowledged that his side did not deserve to win the Test and if they have to become the No.1 side in the world, they will have to develop skill-sets to counter varied conditions around the world.

“In terms of last week, I don’t think it was a brilliant pitch but I don’t think we deserved to win, either. I don’t think the toss determined it. If we’re going to become the No. 1 side in the world, we’re going to have to manage that better,” Joe Root signed off.

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