Star India cricketer slammed India for preparing ‘Pathetic’ pitch, says, ‘Even Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli…’
New Delhi: India’s ongoing struggles against quality spin remain a worrying issue, and once again, the pitch has grabbed attention against after another batting collapse at home. A little over a year after suffering a shocking 0-3 whitewash to New Zealand, the team has now been outplayed by South Africa on a turning track, losing a home Test in under three days.
As expected, criticism has followed particularly over the kind of pitches being prepared for Test cricket. Harbhajan Singh slammed the surface, saying such tracks are unnecessary for a well-balanced Indian side, especially after the strong performances they delivered during the England tour earlier this year.
Harbhajan Singh slammed India for preparing ‘Pathetic’ pitches
“Test cricket has been completely RIP-ed. Rest in peace. I don’t think anything is left of Test cricket… at least Indian Test cricket. In England, the matches were fantastic. We praised how the pitches behaved there and how the boys won matches. That was real Test cricket – there was thrill, you could feel the effort. But this? These pitches are bad,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
Harbhajan, who picked up 417 wickets in 103 Tests, said the current Test pitches in India are so difficult to bat that even legends like Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli would find it tough to score on them.
“Wherever you bowl, the ball is turning unpredictably. The batter has no clue what to do. No matter how good your technique is – even if you are Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli – you won’t survive on such pitches. One ball will shoot up, another will stay low, another will spin absurdly and you’ll get out. Skill doesn’t matter here; only the pitch is deciding everything. And this isn’t new. This has been happening for years,” he said.
SA skipper Temba Bavuma smashed a fifty on a deteriorating pitch
Despite losing the toss, India started strong by bowling out South Africa for 159 on Day 1 at Eden Gardens, with Jasprit Bumrah claiming a superb five-wicket haul. India then managed to build a 30-run lead, but a gritty half-century from South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma on a deteriorating pitch turned the game around, giving the visitors a 123-run advantage — a lead that ultimately proved decisive.
Harbhajan labeled the current status of pitches as “pathetic”.
“Whenever I talk about this, people say, ‘You complain too much, conditions outside aren’t easy either’. But I genuinely don’t understand this. These are unprepared conditions, and we’ve been seeing this for many years now. This is not going in the right direction. My view? It’s pathetic. It is utter nonsense to watch such cricket,” Harbhajan said.
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