Last Updated:
Rohit Sharma feels that rather than putting all the expectations on Ashwin and Jadeja, the rest of the team will need to contribute.
Ravichandran Ashwin (L) and Ravindra Jadeja (R) have played a crucial role in India’s 12-year long dominance at home. (Image: AFP)
The captain of the Indian Test team, Rohit Sharma, feels that it is not fair to expect both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to always run through the opposition batters in spin-friendly conditions and has called on the other players to chip in as well.
Rohit addressed the media in the post-match press conference after India suffered a second consecutive defeat against New Zealand, marking their first series defeat on home soil in 12 years.
The hosts were outplayed by the Kiwis on a spin-friendly track at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium to suffer a defeat by 113 runs.
“They know (about) that. There’s too much expectation on those two guys,” Rohit said.
“Every game they play, they are expected to take wickets, run through the (opposition) team and win Test matches for us. I don’t think that is fair,” he said.
India’s dominant series-winning streak at home began once the likes of Ashwin and Jadeja made their debuts in the Test side in 2011 and 2012 respectively and have since combined to form a lethal spin-bowling pair while also being handy with the bat as well.
Playing together at home, Ashwin has taken 326 wickets in 55 Tests, while Jadeja has bagged 225 in 47 matches.
But Rohit insists that winning Test matches are a collective responsibility for the team where each individual has to chip in for the team.
“It’s the responsibility of all of us to make sure that we get the Test wins, not just the two guys. Of course, by their standards, they know where they stand and what they haven’t been able to do or what they have done really well,” he said.
“Both of them have played so much cricket here and have (made) such huge contributions to our success, of having that home streak of 18 series wins, these two have played a major role in that,” Rohit added.
The Pune Test was one of the rare instances where Ashwin and Jadeja might not have been able to play their usual game with New Zealand putting up some fine batting performances. Rohit understands this and does not intend on putting the pair under too much pressure for their rare failure.
“I’m not going to look into (it) too much, especially with those two guys. They know exactly what happens and sometimes they are allowed to have some bad games here and there and not go by that expectation that ‘okay, this is the opportunity for me to take wickets and run through the opposition’. That’s not going to happen every time,” Rohit said.
“You’re talking about someone who’s taking 500 (plus) wickets and 300 (plus) wickets respectively. They know exactly how they’ve got those wickets and how they have every time come out and won Test matches for us,” he added.
India will now look to play for pride in the final Test where they will look to redeem themselves with a win in the third game being played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from November 1.
(with PTI Inputs)
