Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Team India won the first Test of the series against West Indies by an innings and 141 runs, kicking off the new World Test Championship cycle with a triumph. As the hosts collapsed for just 130 runs on Day 3, Ravichandran Ashwin emerged as India’s top bowler, taking seven wickets in the hosts’ second innings. Earlier in the day, India had declared at 421/5, with a 271-run lead.
However, there were misconceptions about the manner in which Rohit Sharma declared the Indian innings. The Indian skipper appeared dissatisfied and expressed his annoyance by gesturing in the direction of wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, who was on the field alongside Ravindra Jadeja. Ishan took 20 deliveries to score his first runs in Test cricket, and many believed that Rohit wanted Ishan to approach the game in an aggressive manner and stick to his style to score quickly because India needed to declare the innings.
While Rohit’s way of calling Ishan and Jadeja back to the dressing room irked some fans, it wasn’t until the post-game presentation that the skipper finally spoke about the incident. The India captain said that he told the batters they only had “an over or so” left before the declaration and that he wished for Ishan to score his first-few runs in Test cricket before calling them back into the dugout.
Ishan played 19 deliveries before Rohit, dressed in his whites, came from the changing room and motioned animatedly to get the job done quickly and close the innings.
“I was just letting them know we have an over or so before declaring. I wanted Ishan to get off the mark, wanted to tell him to get his personal mark and then we had to declare. I could see that he was always eager to bat, it could be frustrating for them,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation.
Ishan immediately scored his first run on the next delivery after Rohit made the gesture, and the India skipper declared the innings complete.