Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh minced no words as he put it straight, urging the current team management to stop the practice of utilising rank turners for home Tests. The fallout from the recent South Africa whitewash continues, and the track for the first Test in Kolkata remains a topic of debate. The first match of the Freedom Trophy saw India failing to chase down the target of 124 as the hosts were bundled out for 93. It is now common knowledge that head coach Gautam Gambhir and the rest of the support staff requested a turning track, which led to curator Sujan Mukherjee not watering the pitch for days ahead of the Test.
The loss in the series opener did lead to some course correction, but India failed to win the match in Guwahati as well, losing the contest by a massive margin of 408 runs. Speaking at the event, the Turbanator said that the practice of using turning pitches from Day 1 has been used for a long time, and it’s high time the focus is put on having good tracks to “save Test cricket.”
The rank turners also led to India’s downfall in last year’s series against New Zealand, where India were blanked 0-3. It was imagined that India would learn from their mistake, but it was far from the truth as the hosts once again requested a turner for the first Test against the Proteas.
“We should play on good cricket pitches. It has been more than a decade playing on those pitches where there has not been overall growth of (Indian) cricket. If you look at it, we are stuck at that one place, and when we play on good wickets, it becomes a case of being required to look into the mirror,” said Harbhajan, according to news agency PTI.
“We keep on talking about saving and promoting Test cricket, but this is not the way to save Test cricket. If you want to save Test cricket, then we need to start playing on good tracks, which allow your bowlers, batters, and everyone to be in the game,” he added.
‘How will it be possible?’
The art of batting against spin has fallen considerably in India, and batters are no longer well-equipped when compared to the previous generation. None of the current batters play the sweeps, nor do they have a knack for dancing down the track just to rotate the strike.
Harbhajan cited the example of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England where India drew 2-2 on good pitches. He also spoke about skipper Shubman Gill who piled on 754 runs in five matches.
“We did well in England. When we go outside of India, our batters get the opportunity to score runs,” said Harbhajan.
“(But) if you don’t give chance to your batters, then how will it be possible for them to win matches (at home)? It is high time India start playing on good tracks,” he added.
