Mumbai Mumbai. Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has criticized the Indian team's way of preparing pitches for home Test matches. He has given the example of the recent series defeat against New Zealand. He believes that the emphasis on turner pitches has affected the confidence of the Indian batsmen. Harbhajan Singh blamed turning pitches for the defeat in the Test series. Harbhajan Singh said that the trend of playing on turner pitches has been counterproductive because Indian batsmen have found it difficult to adapt to different conditions. Giving the example of Ajinkya Rahane's career, he said that due to these surfaces the player's confidence has decreased. “If you have had a great record for so long at home and if you lose, obviously there will be discussion. Credit to New Zealand for the way they played and it was foreign conditions and not a pitch like this. Where wear and tear was natural.
“It was favorable conditions for the spinners, where the ball should have taken turn from the first hour itself,” Harbhajan told PTI. A straight shooter, Harbhajan questioned the thinking process of the Indian team, which is proving to be unfavourable. “Look at the trend over the last decade. We have been playing on turners for most of the last decade with the expectation that we will win the toss, score 300 and control the game.
“But we don't know whether we will lose or not, if we have the batsmen to bat on the turner. Our batsmen have lost a lot of confidence playing on these pitches. The biggest example of this is Ajinkya Rahane, who is a great player. His career has suffered because of such surfaces,” Harbhajan said in his assessment. One of the best off-spinners in the country, he explained how the batsman lost confidence.
“We always maintain that they (SENA countries) also prepare pitches as per their needs, but they are not pitches where you cannot even bat. Those pitches naturally deteriorate with time “Here if you don't know which pitch will turn and which will be straight, you are always in doubt whether to attack or defend. Even Virat Kohli has done well overseas in the last few years where the ball comes to the bat.
Comments are closed.