Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that the Indian batters have lost a lot of confidence while batting against the spinners on tracks which heavily favor the turners.
Harbhajan also gave the example of batter Ajinkya Rahane and said that his career greatly suffered because of team management’s decision to prepare turning tracks during their home season.
Ajinkya Rahane last played a Test for India in July 2023 against West Indies. Ever since then, the seasoned India middle-order Test batter has been representing Mumbai in domestic cricket. However, he is yet to receive another call-up to the Test side.
As soon as India lost the home Test series against New Zealand on Saturday, several fans on social media started asking for Rahane to be brought back in the Test side as several batters are currently struggling against spin.
“Look at the trend during last decades. We are playing mostly on turners through the last decade with the hope that we will win the toss, score 300 and control the game,” Harbhajan told PTI.
“But we don’t know if we are at the receiving end, if we have the batting to wriggle out on turners. Our batters have lost a lot of confidence playing on these tracks. The biggest example is Ajinkya Rahane, a fine player. His career suffered because of these kind of surfaces,” Harbhajan added.
Harbhajan also explained how the batters end up losing confidence, when playing on wickets that turn square, right from Day 1 of the Test.
“We always get into whataboutery that they (SENA countries) also prepare pitches as per their needs but those aren’t pitches where you can’t even bat. Those pitches go through natural wear and tear over time,” Harbhajan said.
“Here if you don’t know which one will turn and which one will go straight, you are forever fighting doubts whether to attack or defend. Even Virat Kohli has fared well abroad in last few years where the ball comes onto the bat. Now you have three bad home Tests on these tracks but selectors know that you are a good player and take you on overseas tour, but by then, not having runs under your belt has started playing havoc with your mindset. You also fail in a couple of overseas Tests, and suddenly, you are out of the team. Is that a good thing?” Harbhajan added.
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