The loss in the 1st Test against South Africa has led to a lot of experts criticising the Indian after their disappointing performance. This was surely not the way India would have wanted to start this series in South Africa. The Indian failed with both bat and ball where they were not able to put the runs on the board or restrict the South Africa batters to a modest total.this also ruined their chances of winning their first Test series at the rainbow nation, which has been the only dark spot on their flawless record. India will be hoping to make amends in the next match at Cape Town and come back stronger after the thrashing.
There was also some criticism of the Indians playing Intra squad matches instead of practice matches before the Test. Playing practice matches could give you enough exposure to the conditions and idea about how some of the players play. Some people are saying that India were not preparing properly for these matches which has led them to losing this 1st Test by a big margin. These speculations were also targeted towards the coach and captain of the Indian team as well.
Rohit Sharma’s reply
In the Press Conference after the 1st Test India skipper Rohit Sharma was asked the same question regarding this situation and had a befitting reply Saying “We have been playing practice matches in the last 4-5 years. We also tried to play first-class matches. The wicket that you get in the matches, you won't get that in the practice matches. It is better that we prepare according to our requirements, we prepare the pitch according to our requirements. We can have control of the ground,".
With this statement the Rohit talked about the pitches and how in intra squad games they have complete control and further added bringing up his experience in Australia and South Africa back in 2018 stating When we went to Australia the last time, when we played in South Africa in 2018, the ball didn't bounce beyond the knee-roll on practice pitches. But here, the ball flies over your head. So, all these things were considered and we decided to prepare according to our own style." this proves that no matter what Rohit has still showed a lot of trust in this process.