India’s humiliating 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand has sent shockwaves through the cricketing world. Former Indian cricketers have expressed their dismay and called for introspection.
Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Harbhajan Singh have urged the team management to stop “needless experimentation” in the Test format and start playing on better pitches. They believe that the team’s poor performance against spin is a major concern.
Tendulkar highlighted the lack of match practice and poor shot selection as possible reasons for the debacle. He praised Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill for their fighting performances.
Sehwag criticized the team’s skill against spin and questioned the need for unnecessary experimentation in Test cricket. He congratulated New Zealand for their historic victory.
Harbhajan Singh emphasized the need for better pitches, stating that turning tracks make every batsman look ordinary. He believes that teams don’t need legendary spinners to take wickets on such surfaces.
Irfan Pathan pointed out the lack of red-ball cricket for senior Indian batters as a contributing factor. He also raised concerns about the quality of domestic cricket pitches.
Sanjay Manjrekar believes that India’s long phase of rank turners is coming to an end.
Overseas reactions included Michael Vaughan’s observation that Indian batters now struggle against spin like most teams. Ian Bishop praised New Zealand’s remarkable turnaround after their whitewash in Sri Lanka.
Lasith Malinga hailed New Zealand’s historic win, while Mitchell McClenaghan called it arguably their best ever. Mickey Arthur pointed out that India will have a point to prove in their upcoming tour of Australia.
