Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has voiced serious concerns over India’s performance after their 2-0 Test series defeat at home to South Africa, calling it a “shameful” display of inconsistency and poor technique. With the loss by 408 runs in Guwahati, India’s biggest home defeat in Test history, and a string of poor home results against SENA nations, Pathan warns that India’s chances of reaching the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final look increasingly bleak.
In a video message on his YouTube channel, Pathan expressed “It is very shameful how India have played at home against South Africa. This has been going on in the recent past. They lost poorly against New Zealand and now against South Africa. It never looked like you had the skill in both batting and bowling. Simon Harmer did the same thing that (Mitchell) Santner had done when New Zealand came.”
Jansen Outshines Several Indian Bowlers
Pathan underscored how young pacer Marco Jansen overshadowed India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah in both bowling and batting impact. Jansen’s match-winning knock of 93, followed by a six-wicket haul in the same match, compared to Bumrah’s modest haul, was a startling indictment of India’s bowling performance. Pathan argued that such conflicting results from two teams in the same conditions clearly show a gap in aggression, execution and hunger.
WTC Final Qualification Now a Daunting Task
Given the recent series losses and the uphill battles ahead, including tours to spin-friendly Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and a home Test series against the Australia national cricket team, Pathan feels that India will need near-perfect results to keep WTC final hopes alive. He urged the selectors and team management to rethink their approach.
Pathan’s prescription for revival is clear: India must invest in batters who can handle spin, and must bring in players based on domestic performance, especially those adept against spin bowling, rather than on reputation alone. He questioned the rationale behind excluding players like Sarfaraz Khan despite their strong domestic records.
He emphasised that building a stable batting core, with consistent selections and opportunities, is critical. Only then, he believes, can India hope to face spin-heavy conditions confidently and rebuild a competitive Test side.
