Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh slammed Team India after they were stunned by 30 runs in the opening Test match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. The Eden Gardens pitch has come under the scanner after it provided a lot of help to the bowlers from the get-go.
The hosts were bowled out for 93 runs in the run-chase of 124 as none of the batters could go past the 35-run mark. Singh reckons India has been employing the strategy of playing on rank turners for years and it is not good for Test cricket.
Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube Channel, “They have completely destroyed Test cricket. RIP to Test cricket, rest in peace Test cricket. The kind of work they have done, the kind of pitches that have been made for so many years now, I have been seeing it. No one talks about it because it is fine, the team is winning, someone is taking wickets, someone is becoming great by taking those wickets, so everyone feels everything is going well. But I feel that this practice has not started today. It has been going on for many years, and I feel it is a wrong way of playing.”
The Turbanator said Indian cricket is not moving in the right direction if they continue to play on pitches like these.
“You are not moving forward in any way, you are just going around in circles like an ox tied to a mill. You are winning, but there is no real benefit. As a cricketer, you are not growing. So I feel it is high time to see and reflect on this, that playing matches on such pitches where your batsmen are not even sure how to score runs, and you are making them look like they do not know how to bat. Then what difference remains between a capable bowler and a capable batsman if the conditions become so favourable that people are getting out because of the pitch and not because of skill?” he added.
Meanwhile, India was also stunned 3-0 at home against New Zealand in 2024. Singh said it is beyond his understanding why India is playing on rank-turners, which is giving a chance to the opposition.
“It is sad to see the Test cricket situation, the way Test cricket is being played. Matches are ending in two and a half days. For me, this is shocking, shocking. And this is not changing. I do not know for what reason. We have just lost matches in New Zealand, and now again at home this kind of pitch has been made. We went to England and played such good cricket there, and once they came home again the same useless work. What is the difference then?”
“Why are we doing this? I do not understand. You have such a good team. Your batting is solid. Your bowling, your spin department is solid. Your fast bowling, you have solid fast bowlers, Bumrah, Siraj. What else do you need? Even if not in two and a half days, you will win in five days. But at least make good pitches. What is even happening? It is beyond my understanding,” he added.
India and South Africa will take on each other in the second Test at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, from Saturday onwards.
