India’s former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has opened up and accused the team management for preparing spin-friendly pitches to finish Tests in two and a half days, reported Hindustan Times quoting Sports Tak.
According to the report, Singh was not happy with the pitches in India, where Indian batters seemed to have struggled against the spin attack by visitors.
He was of the opinion that though India wants to win the Test matches in 2-3 days, the management has dented the confidence of our batters, as anybody can get out easily on those pitches.
“We’ve started playing on pitches that turn a lot more. We wanted to win and we did win but we won 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. We dented the confidence of our batters because anybody get out (cheaply) on those pitches,” HT quoted Harbhajan as saying to Sports Tak.
“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. But if you play on good pitches, the batters will score runs, and their confidence will only go up when they score runs. So I don’t think our batters have forgotten to play spin but the conditions have been such (in the last few years) that it has become almost impossible,” he added.
His comments are valuable as the Indian team is all set to play two Tests with Bangladesh in September and will visit Australia for a five-match Test series beginning in November.
Singh on Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli not playing Duleep Trophy:
Expressing his views on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli absent from Duleep Trophy, Singh said, “It would be great if they (Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah) play in the Duleep Trophy 2024. When a big player features in these tournaments, it motivates other players who are playing alongside them. These players can make it better (Char Chand lag jayenge). However, it’s their call whether to play or not. I hope that they will feature in domestic cricket.”