India’s recent 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home has left a bitter taste, particularly revealing our batting woes against spin. It’s a familiar story, unfortunately. We’ve seen this script play out before, where our batters, so dominant on home soil previously, seem to crumble when faced with a turning track. They lack application, something which we saw in Pune and Mumbai.
Team India need to play on better pitches: Harbhajan Singh
The criticism has been swift and harsh, with legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh leading the charge. He took to Twitter to express his disappointment, blaming the preparation of turning pitches for making the Indian batters look ordinary.
He tweeted, “Turning pitches becoming our own enemy #INDvsNZTEST. Congratulations NZ, you outplayed us. Been saying this for years. Team India needs to play on better pitches. These turning tracks make every batsman look ordinary.”
It’s a valid point. While we pride ourselves on our spin bowling prowess, over-preparing pitches has backfired. It can make our batters complacent, reducing them to one-trick ponies. We need a balance. Sure, we want challenging conditions, but not ones that turn the game into a one-sided affair. This is especially when our batters don’t have enough confidence on their defensive shots.
