Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh questioned Indian pitches for Test matches ahead of the third match against England. He believes that India has extraordinary players in their ranks and they do not need any help from the fields to take wickets.
India’s launches in recent months have come under a lot of scrutiny. The BCCI has been asking the pitching curators to prepare the range-changers, which has helped the team finish games early, but has also resulted in several Indian batsmen also struggling to get going.
In the ongoing Test series against England, the pitches have been decent, favoring both batsmen and bowlers. This has allowed both teams to take advantage of the conditions and put pressure on each other. The good surfaces allowed fans to witness at least one four-day Test match, which lately is only completed in three days.
Harbhajan Singh believes that the Indian team management needs to think about their approach to grooming the order-changers. He highlighted Jasprit Bumrah’s performance in the two Tests against England and said the fast bowler does not need any help from the pitches.
Harbhajan Singh pointed out that India must understand that the opposition today is more prepared and must ensure that it does not fall into its own trap. Speaking to Gulf News, he explained:
“At some point, the Indian team management will have to sit down and think whether this is the right approach moving forward or not. India has a great team with extraordinary players in their lineup. Someone like Bumrah doesn’t need any help from the field to perform, he is a great bowler.
“We have enough spinners and batsmen, but what India needs to understand is that the opposition is as prepared as they are, so they need to make sure they prepare pitches where they don’t fall into their own trap.”
Jasprit Bumrah has notably been India’s best performer in the ongoing series. The fast bowler in spin-favored conditions has exuded class from him and has picked up 15 wickets in the two games. He is expected to play a very important role in the series in the future.
One should be able to win the match even after losing the toss – Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh further pointed out the drawback of preparing rank changers. He said that in that launch the result is decided based on the draw. He stressed the need to win the match on those fields even after losing the toss. The express:
“In that scenario, the draw becomes critical and if you lose it, the result becomes a foregone conclusion. One should be able to win the match even after losing the toss and that cannot happen on those fields.”
All eyes will be on the field for the third Test between India and England. The match will be played from February 15 in Rajkot. The five-match series between the teams is tied 1-1. It remains to be seen who will emerge the winner in the third game.