Vikram Rathour, Indian batting coach, has dismissed remarks made by a handful of top England players on the Ranchi surface ahead of the fourth Test, which starts on Friday, February 23. The former India opener characterized the Ranchi surface as typical of Indian wickets, but he wasn’t sure how much it would turn.
In the build-up to the fourth Test, Ollie Pope stated that there were a few fractures in the pitch, which appeared’very platey’. England captain Ben Stokes, on the other hand, stated he had never seen a surface like Ranchi’s.
On Thursday, during the pre-game press meeting, Vikram Rathour was questioned about the talk concerning the pitch for the upcoming fourth Test. He gave his thoughts:
“In India, there is always a conversation about the pitch. This [Ranchi] looks like a typical Indian wicket and seems like it will turn. But I am not sure how much it will turn or when will it start to.
“We have the required balance in our team to deal with any situation.”
Vikram Rathour
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, England captain Stokes revealed his thoughts on the Ranchi pitch:
“I’ve never seen something like that before. I have got no idea so I don’t know what could happen. If you looked down one side of opposite ends it just looked different to what I am used to seeing, especially out in India.”
“It looked green and grassy up in the changing rooms, but then you go out there it looked different: very dark and crumbly and quite a few cracks in it.”
Ben Stokes
Meanwhile, England has announced their starting XI for the fourth Test. The Three Lions have made two changes to the team that played in Rajkot. Pacer Ollie Robinson and youthful off-spinner Shoaib Bashir have been named in lieu of Rehan Ahmed and Mark Wood.
“It’s the selectors’ job to pick the 15” – Vikram Rathour on players skipping Ranji Trophy
Indian cricket has recently made headlines for players missing Ranji Trophy matches despite the BCCI’s unambiguous orders to play domestic cricket. When asked about this, Vikram Rathour replied:
“It’s the selectors’ job to pick the 15. This question is better asked to them. I used to be a selector but I’m not anymore. At the moment we see that people who have done well in domestic cricket are promoted. It’s good everybody should get chances.”
Vikram Rathour
Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, and Deepak Chahar did not play for their respective teams in round seven of the Ranji Trophy 2024, despite the BCCI pushing them to participate.