There is a fresh wave of unease sweeping through Indian cricket and it is not just about batters faltering against spin. After yet another sudden collapse on the home soil, the spotlight has shifted sharply onto the pitch itself. Few months after India’s shocking 0-3 Test series defeat to New Zealand, the team has now been outplayed by South Africa on a surface that hardly lasted three days, reviving a long-running debate.
The criticism has been loud and it has intensified with former spinner Harbhajan Singh openly questioning why such extreme conditions are being prepared in the first place. He believes this Indian side is strong enough to compete on balanced pitches, pointing to their impressive performances during the England tour earlier this year as proof.
On his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh expressed deep disappointment, saying it feels as though the essence of Test cricket in India has been lost. He contrasted the thrilling, hard-fought matches in England with the kind of cricket currently unfolding at home, describing the experience as far from ideal. According to him, these surfaces leave little room for players to showcase their skill or temperament.
Having taken 417 wickets in 103 Tests, Harbhajan Singh did not mince words. He insisted that even icons like Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli would struggle to survive when deliveries behave so erratically. He spoke of balls that rise sharply, skid low or spin unpredictably, suggesting that technique becomes irrelevant when luck plays a greater role than ability. To him, this is not a recent problem but one that has been ignored for years.
India, despite losing the toss, began well by bowling South Africa out for 159 on the first day at Eden Gardens, thanks to a superb five-wicket haul by Jasprit Bumrah. Their own reply gave them a small 30-run lead. But the situation changed dramatically as the pitch deteriorated further, allowing South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma to shape the match with a gritty half-century. His effort on the crumbling surface pushed the visitors ahead by 123 runs, a margin that ultimately proved insurmountable for the hosts.
For Harbhajan Singh, the state of the wicket was impossible to ignore. He described the surfaces being used in Indian Test cricket as nothing short of “pathetic”, emphasising that these are not natural challenges but conditions he considers unprepared and unsuitable for high-quality cricket. He added that whenever he raises this concern, he is accused of complaining too much, yet he believes the issue is too important to overlook. In his view, the current direction is troubling and watching matches played on such pitches feels like witnessing a version of the game stripped of its true character.
Through his perspective, one sentiment becomes clear — if the pitch continues to overshadow the players, India risks losing not only matches but also the essence of Test cricket itself.
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