BENGALURU: Minutes after one of the worst days of Rohit Sharma's reign as Test captain, it was revealed that the captain would himself be addressing the press. Usually, the captain and chief coach appear only before and/or after the match. So, this was a significant deviation.
At the conference, Sharma revealed that he was 'hurting' as he was the one who had made the 'judgment' to bat first. He also explained the thought process behind Virat Kohli at No. 3.
Excerpts:
We felt there was no grass on the surface. We thought it would do whatever it has to do in the first couple of sessions and then it is going to take turn as the game goes on. The first session is always critical and then the wicket tends to settle down and the spinners come into play. And Kuldeep (Yadav) is somebody who has bowled well on flat surfaces and he has picked up wickets.
We expected the pitch to be a little flatter than what it turned out to be. So, clearly a misjudgment of the pitch. Obviously, I didn't read the pitch well enough. I'm hurting because I was the one who made that call (to bat).
The experienced players are the ones who have to take that extra responsibility. This time, it was Virat. We asked him whether he can bat at No. 3, he was ready. We wanted to give Sarfaraz the position that he usually bats, 4, 5, 6 maybe. But we didn't want to change Rishabh (Pant) and KL. Hence, Sarfaraz went at No. 4 and Virat was at No. 3.
The ball hit his knee-cap, the same knee he had the surgery on. He has got a bit of swelling and the muscles are a little tender at this point. It's a precautionary measure. We do want to take a risk, but Rishabh doesn't. That was the reason for him to go inside. Hopefully, we will see him on the field tomorrow (Friday).
