Harbhajan Singh has urged the ICC and the BCCI to ensure that Test cricket is played on pitches that last the full five days. Expressing his disappointment over the recent trend of matches ending within a couple of days, the former India off-spinner reiterated that Test cricket remains the ‘best’ format as it truly challenges players.

“I would make a strong recommendation that Test cricket should be the priority, because that is where you get the best cricket and the cricketers. In Test cricket, you get to see the best competition as it lasts for five days and every day, the challenge becomes different,” Harbhajan said on Friday during an event organised by the Legends Club to celebrate Sachin Tendulkar’s birthday.

“Obviously, a lot of things happen on the pitch and accordingly, the people need to change their mindset and adopt to those conditions and come out as a winner. If I was part of any committee in the ICC or the BCCI, I would tell them that to save Test cricket, we must make sure that we play on better pitches, where the game last for five days and does not get over inside three days,” he added.

Having represented India in 103 Tests and claimed 417 wickets, Harbhajan believes it is up to the game’s ambassadors to preserve its longest format.

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“If you look at the Ashes or some of the top Test series, it still attracts a lot of people to come over and watch the game. And we can do the same here in India,” Harbhajan said, adding: “Why are we finishing games in inside three days? We need to make sure we produce those kinds of pitches where everybody is in the game.”

Back in 2024, India lost a Test series at home against New Zealand, and last year, too, it ended up losing the Test series against South Africa on rank-turners. “I think we are losing those matches because of the pitches, not because of the skill. We need points to reach the final circle of the World Test Championship, and how do we get points? Because of that result-oriented approach, we assumed that the opposition wouldn’t know how to play spin, and in the end, dug our own hole,” Harbhajan said.

“It is not fault of the state associations that they produce such pitches, but they do so because that’s how the management wants them to be. The team management wants the match to be over in three days, and that’s why the skill is left out of the game.”

On Jaiswal, Sooryavanshi

Over the last couple of years, several young talents – including Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre – have made their presence felt in the IPL and T20s. And there have been talks that they should be fast-tracked to the national team. However, Harbhajan made it clear that they need to prove their mettle to be part of the Test squad.

“They will have to make a place for themselves and of course, create enough buzz that they are good enough to be in the squad for Test cricket. If there is someone who is batting the best among them all is – Yashasvi Jaiswal, and we are not even talking about him much,” Harbhajan said.

Lauding the young Jaiswal, Harbhajan added: “He has got the perfect mix of what is required in T20 and in Test cricket. He has got the mindset to leave the ball for a session and in the next session, he would start scoring runs. There are a very few with that sort of mindset and he has made a place for himself.

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“His story is also unbelievable; he has come through a lot of struggles and Mumbai Cricket Association gave him a chance and look at where he is now. He is hitting (Mitchell) Starc for a first-ball six.”

“Jaiswal, Sooryavanshi and even Ishan Kishan have the same mindset to hit the ball, but at the same time, you need to understand that when the ball moves and conditions differ, you have to have a game where you need to defend the ball,” Harbhajan said, adding: “They will eventually learn, even through failures.

“If a 15-year-old boy can hit the ball, he can also block. It is about the mindset, if you give him the chance he will adapt to that. But if you send him to England for a first tour where the ball will swing, it will not be a matter of intelligence. But if we want him to play Test cricket we will have to nurture him.”

‘The art of spin bowling has gone out of the window’

The seasoned tweaker also expressed his disappointment on spin bowling losing its sheen. “The art of spin bowling has gone out of the window. I rarely see people spinning the ball. Spinners are supposed to spin the ball and if you are not spinning the ball, you are making things easy for the batter,” Harbhajan said.

“Whether you are playing T20 or Test cricket, if you are able to spin the ball and if you can get something out of the pitch, that is where your class comes into the picture. Otherwise, anyone can roll over their arm…”

But he also insisted that those mastering the craft are still faring well. “Yuzvendra Chahal is doing it, no one can get hold of him. Yesterday (Thursday) Akeal (Hosein) and Noor (Ahmad) for Chennai Super Kings (in an IPL match against Mumbai Indians). I always talk about spinners having a big heart to bowl, we cannot bowl bouncers or yorkers and the only way we can get people out is by deceiving them in the air. And if they do not bowl slow (through the air), do not spin, how will a batter get out?” Harbhajan wondered.

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“Wankhede is the place to bowl spin. The ball should make a half-a-moon shape through your hand and if it is not happening, then the ball will not bounce and that is what the batter is left wanting. People who are applying themselves, they are successful even in T20Is, but those who are not are only filling up the spots in Test cricket, they are just doing the job of containing and not taking wickets,” Harbhajan, who recently had sessions with the spinners at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, pointed.

Mumbai over Punjab

During a conversation with Ajinkya Naik, the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, Harbhajan was asked whether he would want his son to play for Mumbai or for Punjab if he chose to pursue cricket.

Harbhajan replied with a smile: “Since he’s born and raised in Mumbai, I will send him to play for Mumbai if he ever decides to take the sport. I will never push him.”

Published on Apr 24, 2026