Top Indian batters have lost much of their confidence over the years as they played on tracks that were too heavily turning, former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said on Friday, terming the tracks as ‘killer’ that had impacted their home averages and in some cases their careers.

Harbhajan pointed out Ajinkya Rahane as a first choice after India suffered the first Test series defeat in 12 years. In the last match against New Zealand which was held on a spinning pitch at Pune, India lost the crucial toss and could score only 156 and 245 runs, whereas New Zealand’s lead spinner, Mitchell Santner, took a magnificent 13 wickets.

New Zealand Took Great Advantage Of Conditions

“If you have had a great record at home for so long and if you lose, obviously there will be chatter. Credit to New Zealand for playing the way they did; these were alien conditions and also not a pitch where wear and tear was natural. It was a tailor-made condition for spinners where the ball was supposed to turn from the first hour,” Harbhajan told PTI 

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Why are Indian Batters Losing Their Dominance Against Spin?

Harbhajan made it very clear that Indian team has lost its dominance over spin, over the years playing spin has become tougher for Indian batters. He mentioned about Ajinkya Rahane as to how his career is suffering because of spin challenges.

“Look at the trend over the last decade. We are playing mostly on turners with the hope that we will win the toss, score 300, and control the game. But we don’t know if we have the batting to wriggle out on turners. Our batters have lost a lot of confidence playing on these tracks. The biggest example is Ajinkya Rahane, a fine player. His career suffered because of these kinds of surfaces,”

What To Do Against Spin: Attack Or Defend?

“We always get into whataboutery that they (SENA countries) also prepare pitches as per their needs, but those aren’t pitches where you can’t even bat. Those pitches go through natural wear and tear over time. Here, if you don’t know which ball will turn and which one will go straight, you are forever fighting doubts about whether to attack or defend. Even Virat Kohli has fared well abroad in the last few years, where the ball comes onto the bat.”

Selectors Should Back Players

“Now you have three bad home Tests on these tracks, but selectors know you are a good player and take you on overseas tours. By then, not having runs under your belt starts playing havoc with your mindset. You also fail in a couple of overseas Tests, and suddenly, you are out of the team. Is that a good thing?” he asked.

Need Accurate Bowlers To Understand Conditions

“If you prepare rank turners, you don’t play spinners who can turn the ball on the flattest of decks. All you need are bowlers who are accurate. Washy (Washington Sundar) and Axar (Patel) can do the job, and you won’t need the quality of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.”

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“You had Joe Root getting five wickets here some years back. Bring Varun Chakravarthy, who is a white-ball specialist. He will run through sides,” Harbhajan

(With PTI Inputs)