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Team India is yet to recover from their embarrassing 0-3 Test series sweep against New Zealand. With Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 Test series against Australia approaching, Indian batters really need to address their long-standing spin struggle which has been pestering them for quite a long time. India's recent hammering against New Zealand has highlighted a their batters' weakness against spin bowling. A skill that was once considered a strength of Indian batting, playing spin has become a major challenge for the team. On the spin-friendly pitches of Pune and Mumbai, India struggled to score runs, posting low totals of 156, 245, 263, and 121. Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan faced difficulties against spin, while Rohit Sharma, often dismissed by pacers, didn't have sufficient time to combat the spinners. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja also struggled to counter New Zealand's spinners, leaving Rishabh Pant as the lone fighter in India's fourth-innings chase of 147, which ultimately fell short by 21 runs, which marked their first ever home clean sweep.
Navjot Singh Sidhu reveals mantra for Indian batters to counter their spin struggle
Meanwhile, former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu's advice on playing spin has resurfaced online. On November 6, Sidhu elaborated on his advice, providing a four-point 'playbook' to help Indian batters counter spin effectively and avoid the mistakes that led to India's recent Test series defeat.
Sidhu's first piece of advice is to "step out often to the spinner to clutter his mind and keep him guessing." By advancing down the pitch, batters can disrupt the bowler's rhythm and force them to reconsider their line and length. Building on this, Sidhu's second point emphasises the importance of stepping out at the "point of no return," which is the moment the bowler releases the ball.
Sidhu's third piece of advice is to focus on the bowler's wrist, a key indicator of the ball's spin. By closely observing the bowler's wrist movement until the moment of delivery, batters can anticipate the ball's trajectory and adjust their shot accordingly.
Finally, Sidhu recommends a subtle forward movement to maintain flexibility. A small initial forward movement allows batters to react to the ball late and adjust their shot, whether it's playing forward or back. However, committing too early can leave the batter vulnerable to the bowler's skill and strategy. As Sidhu warns, "lunging or committing too early can make you a sitting duck."
"Playing spin on turning tracks - 1 stepping out often to the spinner to clutter his mind , keep him guessing…. 2 ensure that you step out when he is at a point of no return (point of delivery) , it comes with instinct and hours of practice 3 watch his wrist like a hawk till the end to u code the delivery 4 small initial forward movement- allows you to play the ball late and adjust going back and forth …. Lunge or commit you’re at the bowlers mercy and in no position to attack - a dying duck in a thunder storm," Sidhu's post on X read.
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Sidhu's strategic advice comes at a crucial time for Indian batters, who have recently struggled on turning tracks. India's next big assignment will be a five-match Test series against Australia which is set to start from November 22.
India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
