RANK TURNER, RANK BATTING!
Rajesh Pansare | Nov 17, 2025, 04:00 IST
Four defeats in six home Tests raise uncomfortable questions even as Gambhir insists it’s the ‘skills’, not the surface
Knives were out as soon as India slipped to a 30-run defeat against South Africa while chasing a modest 124. While experts criticised the nature of the Eden Gardens wicket, coach Gautam Gambhir defended the surface and instead questioned the “skills” and “temperament” required to tackle such pitches — and quality spin.
Gambhir had highlighted the lack of skills last year as well, when India lost 3-0 to New Zealand. But on the evidence of Sunday’s display, the current Indian batters are still struggling to come to grips with playing in testing conditions.
India preparing rank turners is nothing new, especially over the last decade. Visiting sides have only managed to push India when their spinners found the right length and the batters could negotiate spin with discipline.
The first real example in recent memory was the 2017 Pune Test, when Steve O’Keefe’s 12-wicket haul and Steve Smith’s second-innings century powered Australia to a 333-run victory — India’s first home defeat since 2012. Yet no touring team was able to build on that opening.
Since that Test, India’s home record reads: played 40, won 27, lost 8, drawn 5. Most of those wins — and defeats — came on rank turners. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja tore opponents apart, later joined by Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Among the pacers, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami dominated when conditions offered assistance. And crucially, India always had batters who could grind out runs in difficult conditions.
The bowlers thrived because the batting spine of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara — supported at various stages by Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Murali Vijay, Rishabh Pant, and even Ashwin and Jadeja — could absorb pressure. More recently, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have shown they can do the same.
That resilience ensured India bounced back quickly after rare home defeats. After the 2017 Pune loss, India regrouped to beat Australia by 75 runs in Bengaluru, with Rahul hitting two fifties as an opener, while Pujara and Rahane contributed half-centuries in the second innings. The bowlers then exploited helpful conditions expertly.
A similar pattern unfolded in 2021. Joe Root’s double century and a collective bowling effort handed England a win in Chennai, but India took control thereafter — with centuries from Rohit and Ashwin, fifties from Pant, Rahane and Kohli, and five-fors from Ashwin and Axar Patel.
In 2024, England again drew first blood with a 28-run win in Hyderabad thanks to Ollie Pope’s 196 and Tom Hartley’s seven-for. India responded ruthlessly by winning the next four Tests, with Rohit leading from the front and Jaiswal, Gill and Sarfaraz Khan stepping up.
The alarm bells first rang during the New Zealand series, when — innings after innings — India’s established batting line-up struggled against Kiwi bowlers: Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke in Bengaluru, Mitchell Santner in Pune and Ajaz Patel in Mumbai.
The defeat in Kolkata was India’s fourth loss in their last six home Tests. With that, murmurs have grown louder, with experts openly questioning the kind of surfaces being prepared.
Anil Kumble, who himself thrived on crumbling pitches but usually from Day 3 or 4 onwards, questioned the logic of such conditions. “I’ve been coming to Eden Gardens since my U-19 days, but I’ve never seen a Kolkata pitch behave like that inside three days of a Test match,” the former India leg-spinner said on the post-match show.
Questions are also being raised about the ability of the current Indian batters to handle such conditions, and whether this is the right time to consider playing only Test specialists in the longer format.
Former players have made similar suggestions in recent years, noting that batters are gradually losing the skill of playing with soft hands — partly because most are key figures in the IPL, where power-hitting takes priority. Even the Ranji Trophy seldom offers square turners from Day 1, and most India regulars rarely play domestic cricket. Even when they do turn up, the commitment is often questioned.
R Ashwin praised the application shown by Washington Sundar and South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, urging others to learn from them. “Long levers, getting nice and low to the pitch of the ball, picking up singles down the ground and supreme confidence in defence. Washi looks a million dollars, just like Bavuma. Many times, conversations move towards ‘THE PITCH’ and not about how some have adapted nicely while others haven’t. Sure, it’s hard, but that’s how Test matches are supposed to be — just like life,” Ashwin posted on X.
Once, India’s middle order boasted Kohli, Pujara and Rahane — players with watertight technique. But with Gambhir defiant about continuing with such wickets, the onus now lies squarely on the current batters to figure out a way to handle these challenging conditions, starting with the second Test in Guwahati on Nov 22.
Gambhir had highlighted the lack of skills last year as well, when India lost 3-0 to New Zealand. But on the evidence of Sunday’s display, the current Indian batters are still struggling to come to grips with playing in testing conditions.
India preparing rank turners is nothing new, especially over the last decade. Visiting sides have only managed to push India when their spinners found the right length and the batters could negotiate spin with discipline.
The first real example in recent memory was the 2017 Pune Test, when Steve O’Keefe’s 12-wicket haul and Steve Smith’s second-innings century powered Australia to a 333-run victory — India’s first home defeat since 2012. Yet no touring team was able to build on that opening.
Since that Test, India’s home record reads: played 40, won 27, lost 8, drawn 5. Most of those wins — and defeats — came on rank turners. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja tore opponents apart, later joined by Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Among the pacers, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami dominated when conditions offered assistance. And crucially, India always had batters who could grind out runs in difficult conditions.
The bowlers thrived because the batting spine of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara — supported at various stages by Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Murali Vijay, Rishabh Pant, and even Ashwin and Jadeja — could absorb pressure. More recently, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have shown they can do the same.
That resilience ensured India bounced back quickly after rare home defeats. After the 2017 Pune loss, India regrouped to beat Australia by 75 runs in Bengaluru, with Rahul hitting two fifties as an opener, while Pujara and Rahane contributed half-centuries in the second innings. The bowlers then exploited helpful conditions expertly.
A similar pattern unfolded in 2021. Joe Root’s double century and a collective bowling effort handed England a win in Chennai, but India took control thereafter — with centuries from Rohit and Ashwin, fifties from Pant, Rahane and Kohli, and five-fors from Ashwin and Axar Patel.
In 2024, England again drew first blood with a 28-run win in Hyderabad thanks to Ollie Pope’s 196 and Tom Hartley’s seven-for. India responded ruthlessly by winning the next four Tests, with Rohit leading from the front and Jaiswal, Gill and Sarfaraz Khan stepping up.
The alarm bells first rang during the New Zealand series, when — innings after innings — India’s established batting line-up struggled against Kiwi bowlers: Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke in Bengaluru, Mitchell Santner in Pune and Ajaz Patel in Mumbai.
The defeat in Kolkata was India’s fourth loss in their last six home Tests. With that, murmurs have grown louder, with experts openly questioning the kind of surfaces being prepared.
Anil Kumble, who himself thrived on crumbling pitches but usually from Day 3 or 4 onwards, questioned the logic of such conditions. “I’ve been coming to Eden Gardens since my U-19 days, but I’ve never seen a Kolkata pitch behave like that inside three days of a Test match,” the former India leg-spinner said on the post-match show.
Questions are also being raised about the ability of the current Indian batters to handle such conditions, and whether this is the right time to consider playing only Test specialists in the longer format.
Former players have made similar suggestions in recent years, noting that batters are gradually losing the skill of playing with soft hands — partly because most are key figures in the IPL, where power-hitting takes priority. Even the Ranji Trophy seldom offers square turners from Day 1, and most India regulars rarely play domestic cricket. Even when they do turn up, the commitment is often questioned.
R Ashwin praised the application shown by Washington Sundar and South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, urging others to learn from them. “Long levers, getting nice and low to the pitch of the ball, picking up singles down the ground and supreme confidence in defence. Washi looks a million dollars, just like Bavuma. Many times, conversations move towards ‘THE PITCH’ and not about how some have adapted nicely while others haven’t. Sure, it’s hard, but that’s how Test matches are supposed to be — just like life,” Ashwin posted on X.
Once, India’s middle order boasted Kohli, Pujara and Rahane — players with watertight technique. But with Gambhir defiant about continuing with such wickets, the onus now lies squarely on the current batters to figure out a way to handle these challenging conditions, starting with the second Test in Guwahati on Nov 22.