Harbhajan Singh (Source – Harbhajan Singh)
Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh recently came forward and blamed team India’s Test management for always preparing pitches that are spin-friendly in order to end matches in two or three days, which indirectly puts a dent in the batters’ confidence.
Speaking of Test matches in India, the pitches always managed to get a share of the limelight, and with big sides like Australia and England touring India, the management does their best to prepare a pitch suitable for the hosts.
The often friendly pitches make runs hard to come by, and not only for the visiting team. Even the likes of Virat Kohli and many other batters have witnessed a major dip in their form in recent times. It is worth noting that since 2020, of the players who have played more than 8 matches at home, only Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja average over 40.
Speaking about the same, Harbhajan Singh revealed that the problem is in the pitches in play. He opined that the idea of winning the Tests early is hurting the batters.
“We’ve started playing on pitches that turn a lot more. We wanted to win and we did win but we wanted to win in two and a half days. I think, if we had produced normal pitches that started to turn from Day 3 and Day 4, we still would have won but the batters would have gotten time to settle in. And we wouldn’t be discussing the problems of our batters against spinners. We dented the confidence of our batters because anybody gets out (cheaply) on those pitches,” Harbhajan told Sports Tak.
Furthermore, he stated that the Indian management should trust their bowlers and opined that no one can beat India on their own. “We still have a chance (to rectify this). If we pay on good pitches, I don’t think anyone can beat India. The pacers that India have, the spin attack that there is, they would definitely win you Tests on Day 5 if not on Day 3,” Harbhajan said.