Calling it “the destruction of Test cricket,” former India spinner Harbhajan Singh slammed underprepared, excessively bowler-friendly pitches like the Eden Gardens surface, saying they stunt the genuine development of players.
In the first Test match against South Africa, India lost by 30 runs while chasing 124, and the match was over in three days.
“They have completely destroyed Test cricket. Rest in peace Test cricket,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
“The kind of work they have done, the kind of pitches that have been made for so many years now, I have been seeing it. No one talks about it because it is fine, the team is winning, someone is taking wickets, someone is becoming great by taking those wickets,” he said.
“So everyone feels everything is going well. But I feel that this practice has not started today. It has been going on for many years, and I feel it is the wrong way of playing,” added Harbhajan, who had claimed 13 wickets at the same venue during India’s historic victory over Australia in 2001.
Harbhajan stated that since these surfaces don’t aid in players’ development, it was necessary to consider the matter.
“You are not moving forward in any way, you are just going around in circles like an ox tied to a mill. You are winning, but there is no real benefit. As a cricketer, you are not growing,” he said.
“So I feel it is high time to see and reflect on this, that playing matches on such pitches where your batsmen are not even sure how to score runs, and you are making them look like they do not know how to bat.”
“Then what difference remains between a capable bowler and a capable batsman if the conditions become so favourable that people are getting out because of the pitch and not because of skill? It is sad to see how Test cricket is being played. I don’t know why we are doing this,” Harbhajan, who has taken 417 wickets in 103 Tests, said.
The second and final Test between India and South Africa will begin in Guwahati on November 22.
