Kapil Dev explains why Indian batters are faltering against spin at home

India lost 0-3 to New Zealand last October-November, and the recent 0-2 surrender to South Africa at Kolkata and Guwahati has only exposed the team’s vulnerability on spinner-friendly pitches.

New Zealand spinners Ajaz Patel (15), Mitchell Santner (13), Glenn Phillips (8), and Ish Sodhi (1) accounted for 37 wickets in three Tests. For South Africa, Simon Harmer (17), Keshav Maharaj (6), Aiden Markram (1), and Senuran Muthusamy (1) claimed 25 wickets in two Tests.

Where did the Indian batters go wrong? For a long time, it was a given that Indians were champions against spin. Stalwarts like Sunil Gavaskar, GR Vishwanath, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Mohinder Amarnath showed a generation how to deal with slow bowlers. Batters such as Brijesh Patel, Ashok Malhotra, Navjot Sidhu, Pravin Amre, and Ajay Sharma haunted spinners with their skills. Their eyes would light up at the sight of a flighted ball.

“That was because they had individual style, footwork, and the fact that they played good domestic cricket on a variety of pitches. I just want to know how many of today’s top players are playing domestic cricket. That’s the most crucial thing. If you don’t play domestic cricket and don’t face quality bowlers, you are going to struggle,” former India captain Kapil Dev told Sportstar.

Reflecting on the disastrous performance against South Africa, Kapil noted, “The pitches are very, very important. Not the type where the game ends in two and a half days. You lose the toss and lose the game. What is the point of having a pitch where no team crosses 200? It is not good for the state of the five-day game.”

The 1983 World Cup-winning captain stressed, “We are more occupied with T20s and ODIs, which means the batters hardly encounter bowler-friendly pitches. On surfaces offering a lot of help to spin and seam, you need patience and a different set of skills to thrive. Once you are ready to play on those pitches, your mindset affects how you tackle them. You do not have batters like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who knew how to stay at the wicket. Batting in Tests is about staying in the middle.”

Kapil insisted, “You need better skills to tackle spin than to play pace, but it depends on the state of the pitch. If the turn or bounce is vicious, it becomes very difficult. Remember, footwork plays an important role. If your temperament is to go and hit like Rishabh Pant, it is different. You cannot ask Pant to defend. He is a genuine match-winner. He will go and hit the ball. He is not going to bat 100 balls to make 20. When he hits a six, we all go gaga. Do you tell him not to hit them? He is a batter who can demolish the opposition.”

According to Kapil, the solution lies in playing domestic cricket. “I was surprised that India lost to New Zealand and South Africa at home, but we should have prepared better. Test cricket is different. You ask a person like me to defend, it will not work. But you ask someone like Ravi Shastri to bat the whole day, he will do it. Jimmy Amarnath and Sunil Gavaskar could stay in the middle for the entire day. They had the temperament because they played a lot of domestic cricket.”

Published on Nov 28, 2025