IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma gives epic reply to 'doctored pitch' claims

India skipper Rohit Sharma has given an epic response to the ongoing Nagpur 'pitch doctoring' claims on the eve of the opening Test of the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Many former Australian cricketers and several pundits have expressed their concerns regarding the Nagpur wicket and they feel that it will largely benefit the Indian spinners and cause problems for the Aussies. The rumours of the wicket being 'doctored' took off after pictures of curators working on the Nagpur pitch started doing rounds on social media.

Focus on cricket: Rohit Sharma 

“Just focus on cricket and not on the pitch," the 35-year-old said while speaking to journalists in Nagpur on the eve of the first Test as reported by Hindustan Times.

The right-handed batter gave an epic response to all the talks, stating that rather than wasting time on passing comments about the pitch, it would only be fair if both India and Australia concentrated more on the upcoming series and in playing some serious and quality cricket that would not only benefit the players but also delight the fans.

"Speaking about doctored pitches, I just feel like, focus on the cricket that is going to be played in the next five days and not worry too much about the pitch. The last series that we played here, a lot was said about the pitches. After all, the 22 guys out there are all quality players. So don't worry about what the pitches are going to be like, how much will it turn, how much will it seam. Just come out and play good cricket, win the game as simple as that," he said.

Rohit also specified that the teams should look to prepare well ahead of the challenges as it is the key to succeed in the conditions.

“It’s important to have a plan and figure out a way. Everyone has a different method. Some like to sweep, some flip, some hit over the bowler. You have to alternate attacks and sometimes you have to counterattack.

The captains, of course, tried different things and switched fields and bowlers. So you have to plan and play accordingly. We have four solid Test matches to play in BGT and we would like to win the series. It will be a challenging series and we need to be ready. Preparation is key. If you prepare well, you will get results,” he concluded.

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