When visiting India for a Test series, foreign teams should improve their spin bowling rather than whining about rank-turners, according to Irfan Pathan.
India’s domination at home has caused a stir over the pitches in the recent past. But Irfan Pathan advised the traveling teams not to hold the weather responsible for their lackluster performances.
When the well-known cricketer spoke, it was following a frenzied first day (Wednesday, January 3) of the current Cape Town Test. India and South Africa were competing. Batsmen found it tough to build momentum on this pitch. This led to 23 wickets tumbling just on the day one.
Using the microblogging site X, which was formerly known as Twitter, Irfan Pathan posted:
“When overseas cricketers come to India on turning pitches they shouldn’t complain. It’s a skill they need to improve!”
Irfan Pathan
The second Test between India and South Africa started with a bang, right from Day 1’s first session. South Africa decided to bat first after winning the toss but stumbled.
Indeed, the decision wasn’t fruitful for them. They could only score 55, marking it as their rock-bottom against India in Test cricket history. India too had a challenging time, scoring just 153. They lost their last six wickets without adding a single run.
Mohammed Siraj had a stellar game, taking six wickets in the first innings. Virat Kohli showed resilience with the bat, churning out 46 runs from 59 balls.
“India need to build a good fast-bowling unit” – Irfan Pathan
Sadly, India’s hopes for a first-time victory in a Test series on South African grounds crumbled. They fell in the first Test of the series, losing by a staggering innings and 32 runs.
At Centurion, India posted scores of 245 and 131 in the first and second innings. However, the powerful South African team claimed a formidable 408-run total.
Irfan Pathan, highlighting the deficiency of depth within India’s fast bowling squad, said that the team management should seek out and develop fresh pacers. When addressing Star Sports, he stated:
“India need to build a good fast-bowling unit. Look what happened in South Africa. The back-ups weren’t just ready. I won’t say that they lack quality, but since they weren’t ready, you felt Shami’s absence. So that means, god forbid, if something happens to Bumrah, who we have seen has suffered from an injury owing to his bowling action, we won’t find any bowler of his quality. So India need to prepare a pool of 7-8 fast bowlers either through talent hunts or through Ranji Trophy.”
Irfan Pathan
In the first Test, Mohammed Shami was missed as the other bowlers did not provide adequate support for pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. Shami, who had a dominant season previous year, was forced to withdraw from the rubber because of an ankle ailment.
