"You might be Tendulkar, Kallis, Brian Lara or Virat Kohli, even an unknown bowler will dismiss you on this pitch" - Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh recently criticized Team India for playing home Test matches on rank turners where a non-regular bowler can also dismiss the most accomplished batters.
Australia defeated India by nine wickets in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Indore on Friday, March 3. Rohit Sharma and Co. were bowled out for 109 and 163 in their two innings, with the Australian spinners picking up 18 wickets in the game.
While reviewing the game on Star Sports, Harbhajan Singh lambasted India for playing on surfaces like the one in Indore, saying:
"As a batter, it is very difficult to survive even if you have a good defense. You might be Tendulkar, Kallis, Brian Lara or Virat Kohli, even an unknown bowler will dismiss you on this pitch if you play six balls continuously."
Harbhajan wants the Indian bowlers to earn their wickets, elaborating:
"Your batters were not working hard but laboring on this pitch because you didn't know at all where the ball was going. I want your bowlers also to do some hard work because are they capable of winning you the match while defending 250 runs on the fourth or fifth day when there is slight help from the pitch?"
Vengsarkar on the Indore pitch
#INDvsAUS https://t.co/tb77QQL1ch
Rohit Sharma mentioned in the post-match press conference that the Indian team has decided as a whole to play on such tracks. He was willing to accept the odd adverse result while following the philosophy of playing on spin-friendly surfaces.
"I am troubled when bowlers like Joe Root come and pick up 5 wickets in 5 overs" - Harbhajan Singh
While acknowledging that Nathan Lyon and Ravichandran Ashwin are among the best spinners, Harbhajan pointed out that part-time bowlers like Joe Root should not run through the opposition, observing:
"Nathan Lyon picked up eight wickets. He is an extremely skilled bowler. R Ashwin is a great bowler but I am troubled when bowlers like Joe Root come and pick up five wickets in five overs. Test wickets are being given to anyone. Your skill should give you the wickets and your skill should score runs."
The former Indian spinner cited the example of Rahul Dravid to highlight that batters had to put in the hard yards to score runs earlier as well when the matches were played on truer surfaces, explaining:
"You need to have a solid defense there as well. It is not that Rahul Dravid wasn't defending earlier, he used to play the full day, put in the hard work and then only a century was scored. On the same pitches, Virender Sehwag used to destroy the bowlers, score a century in the first session and rest the entire day."
Indore pitch likely to get "Below average" rating from ICC. (Source - PTI)
Harbhajan Singh concluded by opining that Test cricket can only be promoted among fans if the game lasts four to five days. He added that a two-and-quarter-day game was an illustration of the sort of cricket that was played.