Rohit Sharma bats for India-Pakistan Tests on neutral ground | Cricket news

The India captain also says IPLThe 'Impact-Player' rule influences the development of all-rounders
Captain of India Rohit Sharma has said that he is not averse to playing Testing cricket against Pakistan on neutral ground even as political tensions continue to deprive fans of a bilateral Test series between the two neighbors.
Speaking on the YouTube show 'Club Praire Fire', hosted by the former Australia captain Adam Gilchrist and former England captain Michael Vaughan, Rohit said: “Ultimately we want to be in the match and I think it will be a great match between the two sides (India and Pakistan).
“We play them in ICC trophies anyway so it doesn't really matter. It's just pure cricket that I watch. I'm not interested in anything else.”
The last Test between India and Pakistan was played in December 2007 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. “I completely believe that,” Rohit said while responding to Vaughan's question on whether, for the sake of the health of Test cricket, it would be beneficial for both India and Pakistan to play at a neutral venue.
Rohit complimented Pakistan's bowling skills and said he wanted the Indian to be tested against them. “They are a good team. They have a fantastic bowling line-up, so it will be a good match, especially playing in foreign conditions. That will be great,” Rohit said.
Last year, India refused to travel to Pakistan for the war Asia Cup and all their matches were moved to Sri Lanka instead. Next Years ICC Champions Trophy – which is expected to be hosted by Pakistan – is likely to be another sticking point. The ICC guidelines do not force member states to ignore government advice.
Rohit's candid take on the controversial issue is rare for an Indian cricketer of his stature. Even Indian Cricket Council (BCCI) officials generally toe the line that the government should decide the issue.
'Not a big fan of impact player'
Rohit also said on the same show that the IPL's 'impact player' rule – introduced in 2023 to allow teams to engage the services of an additional player as a substitute after the toss is completed – could facilitate the rise of multi-players will hinder. experienced players from India.
“The impact players rule will hold back the development of all-rounders because cricket is played by 11 players and not 12. I am not a big fan of impact players. You take so much out of the game to make it not very entertaining for the people. But if you just look at the cricket aspect, I can give you so many examples, like guys Washington SundarShivam Dube is not allowed to bowl, which is not a good thing for the Indian team.”
As Indian captain, who will lead the team to the West Indies and USA for the T20 World Cup, Rohit wants to have more all-round options at his disposal. Right now, India has only three real contenders for the all-rounder role: Hardik Pandya (unreliable condition), Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel (both spin bowling all-rounders).
Rohit was skeptical about the impact player rule even last year when he was leading the franchise. “I don't know if this will affect an all-rounder,” Rohit had said.
“An all-rounder will always be an all-rounder. Whatever stage of the game you are in, it gives you the opportunity to bowl him at any time and make him hit at any time. Yes, with that twelfth player you can fill that gap always fill up and have that balance of a fifth or sixth bowler or even an extra batsman.”
Incidentally, 93 hundreds have been scored in the IPL since 2008 and 18 of them have come since the introduction of the 'impact player' rule. Moreover, since the rule was introduced, there has been only one instance of a chasing team losing a match despite a batsman scoring a hundred: Rohit Sharma's 105 against CSK recently.
Furthermore, there was only one score over 250 in 15 seasons of the IPL before 2023 – RCB's 263-5 vs Pune Warriors in 2013. Since the introduction of the rule in 2023, there have been four totals over 250. they came this season.