“RIP to Test cricket, they have completely destroyed it” - Harbhajan Singh slams the Indian team management after 30-run loss to SA

Harbhajan Singh launched a brutal attack on the Indian team management after the 30-run loss to SA, stating, "RIP to Test cricket, they have completely destroyed it." The comment was a severe condemnation of the strategy of preparing extreme rank-turners that finish matches inside three days.

By Rui 17 Nov 2025 in Cricket

New Update

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has slammed the Indian team management for destroying the longest format of the game at home, adding that it’s completely the wrong way of playing the game on poor pitches.

For the unversed, India suffered a 30-run defeat to South Africa in the first Test of the two-match series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata as they started the series on a worrying note. Interestingly, the five-day Test got concluded inside three days, which drew the attention of many in the Indian cricketing fraternity.

“They have completely destroyed Test cricket. RIP to Test cricket, rest in peace Test cricket. 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, 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 a wrong way of playing,” Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel.

“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. 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?” he added.

India will next face South Africa in the second and final Test of the two-match series, starting on Saturday, November 22, in Guwahati. India is currently ranked fourth, slipping one spot after the defeat in the first Test.

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