India batters' spin struggle in Tests: Former cricketer blames T20 cricket, aims jibe at Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel

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India batters' spin struggle in Tests: Former cricketer blames T20 cricket, aims jibe at Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Ashok Malhotra blamed T20 cricket for India batters' struggles against spin in Tests.
  • The former India batter took a jibe at Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
  • India faces Sri Lanka in a two-Test series beginning August 15 in Galle.

India's struggle against spin in Test cricket

India's declining ability to play spin in Test cricket has become one of the most pressing talking points in the country's game, and former batter Ashok Malhotra has offered a blunt diagnosis.

He has pinned the blame squarely on the influence of T20 cricket while also questioning the quality of India's own spinners.

The concern is timely, with India preparing for a two-match Test series in Sri Lanka starting August 15, where slow, turning tracks await. Spin proved to be India's undoing in recent home series defeats, first in the 3-0 whitewash by New Zealand in 2024 and then the 2-0 loss to South Africa.

Malhotra believes the roots of the problem lie in how the shortest format has reshaped the way modern bowlers operate, leaving batters with little exposure to genuine, big-turning spin in the domestic game.

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Ashok Malhotra blames T20 cricket for India's spin struggles

Malhotra argued that the art of spin bowling itself has been diluted by the demands of T20 cricket, where flat, quick deliveries are prized over flight and turn. He contrasted the current landscape with the depth of spin talent in the domestic game during his own playing days.

Speaking in the interview with PTI, Malhotra said, "It's because of T20 cricket. In T20 cricket, nobody spins the ball; they just fire it in. In our time, there was Bishan Bedi, Rajinder Goel, Dilip Doshi, Padmakar Shivalkar and Dhiraj Parsana. Each team had a good bowler."

He then turned his attention to India's current spin-bowling all-rounders, taking a pointed jibe at their lack of turn.

Malhotra said, "But if you look at the situation now, you have the same Jadeja and Axar Patel, who don't spin the ball. So, when you don't have the spinner, how can you play it effectively? That's why New Zealand beat us with part-time spinners, and then South Africa followed suit."

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Why India's spin problem runs deeper than one factor

There is real substance to Malhotra's argument, even if it is deliberately provocative. The point about Indian batters rarely facing quality spin in domestic cricket is a genuine one, and it partly explains why once-fortress home conditions have suddenly become a vulnerability against even modest spin attacks.

Yet the diagnosis feels incomplete. Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel have long been match-winners on turning tracks, and framing them as ineffective overlooks the wider issue of batting technique and temperament in the post-T20 era.

India's problem is as much about batters lacking the patience to bat long against spin as it is about the bowlers, and it is that combination which makes the Sri Lanka series such a searching examination of where this transitioning side truly stands.

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