Last Updated:
Sanjay Manjrekar analyses India’s home Test whitewashes, citing batters’ struggles with spin and lack of domestic preparation against South Africa.
KL Rahul & Co. faltered massively with the bat against South Africa (Picture credit: AFP)
Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that there are several the explanation why India suffered two whitewashes at home inside a 12 months, reiterating that it is due to Indian batters not getting used to playing lots at home, which eventually results in their inability to play spin.
In each losses, India were thoroughly outplayed and suffered a heavy whitewash. Within the recent Test series against South Africa, the Indian batting unit buckled under pressure, with their struggles against spin exposed.
The Protea batters appeared way more composed, highlighting a troubling vulnerability for India in their very own conditions. Star all-rounders Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja were the one ones to cross 100 runs within the two-Test series, while senior pros KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant faltered.
Star batter Yashasvi Jaiswal chipped in with a half-century but couldn’t back it up in the remaining of the innings.
Manjrekar believes India’s recent home Test losses point to deeper systemic problems. He argues that domestic batting standouts lose their sharpness after entering the national setup, spending more time overseas and returning underprepared for spin-heavy conditions at home.
“There are two reasons India went down 0-3 to Recent Zealand and 0-2 to South Africa at home. And each teams beat India not by pace, swing or bounce but by spin. One is when an Indian batter scores heavily in domestic cricket and gets chosen for India; he becomes like an NRI,” Manjrekar said in a video posted on his Instagram account.
“Within the sense that he hardly plays at home. There are more overseas cricket opportunities for Indian batters,” Manjrekar said.
The Indian team excelled on the England tour, with the young batting group standing up under pressure and mastering the overseas conditions. But that form has not translated back home, where their struggles have been way more evident.
November 28, 2025, 23:39 IST
Read More