Harbhajan Singh blames this reason for India's struggle against Spin bowling

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Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has attributed the struggles of Indian batters against quality spin bowling to the turning pitches in India.

He believes these pitches have negatively impacted the confidence of the players. India's recent Test series against England saw a rank-turner prepared for the first match, which backfired as India lost. Senior players like Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane struggled with spin, affecting their long-term confidence.

However, after switching to a sporting wicket, India managed to come from behind and win the series 4-1. And Harbhajan insists the rank turners are inflicting issues on the Indian team.

"We've started playing on pitches that turn a lot more. We wanted to win and we did win but we won in two and a half days. I think, if we had produced normal pitches that started to turn from Day 3 and Day 4, we still would have won but the batters would have gotten time to settle in. We dented the confidence of our batters because anybody get out (cheaply) on those pitches," Harbhajan said on Sports Tak.

The introduction of the World Test Championship (WTC) has led teams to prepare pitches that favour their strengths to secure a spot in the finals held in June. This has resulted in Indian pitches becoming rank-turners, heavily assisting spinners and making it difficult for batters to perform consistently.

Before WTC, Indian pitches were more balanced, offering assistance to both spinners and batters. The pressure to reach the WTC finals has changed this dynamic, leading to surfaces that turn significantly from early on. This shift has been particularly challenging for Indian batters who are now struggling more against spin bowling.

In early 2023, India played a series against Australia on rank-turners and narrowly won 2-1. While bowlers thrived, batters found it hard to score runs, with their averages dropping significantly. The trend continued as Indian batters faced difficulties adjusting to these conditions.

The upcoming Test series against Bangladesh will be crucial for India as they aim for a 2-0 victory under Rohit Sharma's leadership. This series is part of the WTC cycle, and winning it is essential for India's chances of reaching the finals.