NEW DELHI: Indian batters, who once mastered the art of playing spin, struggled against quality bowling in tricky home conditions as their frailties were exposed again during their shocking 30-run defeat to South Africa while chasing 124 in the first Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
India caught in their own trap by demanding rank turners at home as they suffered their fourth home loss in their last six Tests, including the 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand on turning tracks last year.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin did not mince his words while criticising the batters' inability to play spin, saying the current lot lacks the technique and temperament needed to handle quality spin bowling.
"I am gonna stick my neck out and say in another game in an era where spin bowling was combated very well... I will take the names Amol Muzumdar and Mithun Manhas, who is the BCCI president, and I won't take all the names, but Sachin Tendulkar in his prime, the God of Cricket," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
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"This game would have gone to four days. In a total of 16 batters, only three to four players have defended well. If you want to play on turning tracks, then your game against spin has to be good; otherwise, don't play on such pitches as simple."
Ashwin argued that India's struggles against spin stem directly from a lack of proper preparation.
"We are not the best players of spin going around in the world at this point in time. Most Western teams are better than India now because they come to India, they practice it a lot more, but we don't practice enough of it."
"We are superior players of fast bowling in many other venues right now because we consider that as a challenge, but not this. That is the difference."
