Rohit Sharma responds to allegations of curators manipulating pitch to favour India in BGT 2023

India skipper Rohit Sharma has come hard on the critics who are questioning the Nagpur wicket. Ahead of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the pitch of the Jamtha Stadium is rumored to be a ‘doctored’ one. Not to forget, it was recently reported that India head coach Rahul Dravid was reported to have asked the pitch curator to dish out a turner.

Meanwhile, a day ahead of the game, the India skipper spoke to the media. He was asked about the possible doctored wicket at the venue. To which, Sharma urged to focus on the game and the quality of cricket from both sides. The two-time World Championship winner added that both teams have four solid Tests to play and the team wants to win the series.

“Just focus on cricket and not the pitch. After all the 22 guys out there are all quality players.” he said.

“We have four solid test matches to play in the BGT and we would want to win the series. It is going to be a challenging series and we have to be up for it. Preparation is the key. If you prepare well, you get results,” he asserted.

Rohit Sharma will be playing his first Test since February last year

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old will be playing his first Test after February 2022. Almost 12 months ago, he played in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Since then, he missed the longest format of the game due to various reasons. In July last year, he missed the rescheduled fifth Test against England due to COVID-19.

A few months after this, he injured his thumb during the ODI series against Bangladesh. This resulted in the right-hander missing the following Test series. Last month, he made his comeback in the Indian team and has been doing well. In the upcoming series, Rohit would love to replicate his white-ball form in red-ball cricket.