Yashasvi Jaiswal is India’s best all-format player, according to legendary Harbhajan Singh. Teenage batting stars like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre will need to have the proper mindset for Test cricket.
Because Jaiswal has the correct kind of technique for all formats, Harbhajan called him the “best batter among the next generation” without hesitation.
“They (upcoming batters) will have to make a place for themselves and of course create enough buzz that they are good enough to be in the squad for Test cricket,” PTI quoted Harbhajan as saying during a Legends Club event in Mumbai to celebrate Sachin Tendulkar’s 53rd birthday.
“If there is someone who is batting the best among them all is Yashasvi Jaiswal and we are not even talking about him. He has got the perfect mix of what is required in T20s and what is required in Test cricket. He has got the mindset to leave the ball for a session and in the next session he would start scoring runs.”
“There are a very few with that sort of mindset and he (Jaiswal) has made a place for himself. I think Jaiswal, Sooryavanshi and even Ishan Kishan have the same mindset to hit the ball, but at the same time, you need to understand that when the ball moves and conditions differ, you have to have a game where you need to defend the ball,” Harbhajan said.
Harbhajan stated that in order to get someone like Sooryavanshi to play Test cricket, India will need to develop him.
“They will eventually learn, even though the ups and downs. But if a 15-year-old boy can hit the ball, he can also block. It is about the mindset, if you give him the opportunity he will adapt to that,” he said.
“But if you send him to England for a first tour where the ball will swing, it will not be a matter of intelligence. If we want him to play Test cricket, we will have to nurture him,” Harbhajan added.
According to the former Indian spinner, improved surfaces are essential for Test cricket in India since they would not only increase batter confidence but also prevent spinners from taking easy wickets.
“I would make a strong recommendation that Test cricket should be the priority, because that is where you get the best cricket and the cricketers. In Test cricket, you get to see the best competition as it lasts for five days and every day, the challenge becomes different,” he said.
“Obviously, a lot of things happen on the pitch and accordingly, the people need to change their mindset and adopt to those conditions and come out as a winner.”
“If I was part of any committee in the ICC or the BCCI, I would tell them that to save Test cricket, we must make sure that we play on better pitches, where the game last for five days and does not get over inside three days,” he added.
According to Harbhajan, longer Test matches would result from improved pitches, which would increase stadium attendance.
“If you look at the Ashes or some of the top Test series, it still attracts a lot of people to come over and watch the game and we can do the same here in India,” he said.
“Why are we finishing games in inside three days? We need to make sure we produce those kind of pitches where everybody is in the game…” The spin bowling great once again questioned the intent of the spinners while also playing in the shortest format, saying that the “art has gone out of the window”.
“The art of spin bowling has gone out of the window. I rarely see people spinning the ball, spinners are supposed to spin the ball and if you are not spinning the ball you are making things easy for the batsmen,” Harbhajan said.
“Whether you are playing T20 or Test cricket, if you are able to spin the ball and if you can get something out of the pitch that is where your class comes into the picture. Otherwise, anyone can roll over their arm.”
“I always talk about spinners having a big heart to bowl, we cannot bowl bouncers or yorkers and the only way we can get people out is by deceiving them in the air. And if they do not bowl slow (through the air), do not spin, how will a batter get out?”
According to Harbhajan, even in the IPL’s batting-friendly circumstances, spinners who put in effort and spin the ball may still be successful.
“(While coming out) the ball should make a half-a-moon shape through your hand and if it is not happening, then the ball will not bounce and that is what the batter is wanting to happen,” Harbhajan said.
“People who are applying themselves, they are successful even in T20s but those who are not, are only filling up the spots even in Test cricket, they are just doing the job of containing and not taking wickets,” he said, adding that the need is to develop wicket-taking mentality among spinners.
