Harbhajan Singh was one of many who pushed Indian cricket to put long-term growth ahead of immediate domestic supremacy. India suffered a historic defeat in their most recent Test series against South Africa. In addition to revealing technical problems, the defeats have provoked heated responses from former cricket players.
Spin-heavy surfaces that promoted fast finishes were the foundation of India’s ten-year domestic dominance. However, India’s weaknesses have been made clear time and time again since New Zealand broke that run in 2024. This time, South Africa capitalised once more, crushing India with resounding victories, particularly in Guwahati. Concerns regarding India’s capacity to play conventional, five-day Test cricket were heightened by the outcome.
The decline in India’s red-ball foundations has angered Harbhajan. He claimed that because Indian batters are used to surfaces that terminate matches in two or three days, they do not know how to play five-day Test cricket. He claims that in addition to harming skill development, these surfaces have directly contributed to the drop in averages of cricket greats like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane.
“For five days, we are unsure of how to play matches. Playing on wickets where games take two or three days has become second nature to us. There have been a lot of these matches since 2011–12, but relatively few have progressed to the fifth day. In the past, such pitches were uncommon. Our batsmen, including Virat Kohli, Pujara, and Rahane, now have averages of 35–40 instead of 50. On these pitches, you can’t play fast or slow. The batters have nothing left on these pitches. He posted on his YouTube channel, “Our old greats were great because they knew how to play five days of Test cricket.”
Put those victories aside: Harbhajan Singh
In order to prepare future generations, the former asked club management to set aside the previous ten to twelve years of spin-friendly victories and instead seek better, balanced pitches.
“Good wickets foster qualities that are lacking in India’s recent performances,” Harbhajan said.
“I believe that in order to improve Indian cricket, they need put the past ten or twelve years and the wickets they have played on behind them. Put those victories behind you. To preserve the next generation of Indian cricket players, they should start playing on better wickets even though they seem well in records. It takes effort, hard work, and discipline to play Test cricket, and I believe that these qualities have been lacking for a long time.
The broadcaster suffers, ticket buyers suffer, and everyone goes home because games end in two and a half or three days. On a decent wicket, though, what happens? The game lasts five days with an excellent wicket. After that, you discover who the true victor is. “This is a lottery-style situation—South Africa won the first game, and New Zealand won the first one earlier—because the pitch was so unpredictable,” he continued.
Harbhajan cited the Guwahati Test as evidence, stating that although the pitch was suitable for batting, India fell apart for 201 and 140. He emphasised South Africa’s first-inning total of 489 and second-inning total of 260/5, as well as Marco Jansen’s six-wicket haul on Day 2.
“Let’s go on to the second game. On this pitch, South Africa made 489 after winning the toss. On the first day, you might say that the pitch is good. However, they only lost five wickets while scoring 260 runs in the second innings. What was the number of runs you scored in the first inning? 201. Okay, so the squad went all out. Perhaps there was some spin on the surface, but you didn’t go out to spin.
Six wickets were taken by whom? Jansen, a quick bowler, did. After that, Team India fell apart for 140 in the second innings. And notice that you only made 140 there, whereas others made 260. Therefore, the pitch is not solely to blame for this. “I think your temperament is the biggest flaw,” Harbhajan said.
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