A Collapse That Haunts: Sandhu Slams Indian Batting After Eden Gardens Collapse

While Balwinder Singh Sandhu was saying "beyond shocking" he was highlighting the ongoing crisis of Indian Test cricket that had been painfully revealed on a turning Eden Gardens pitch.

A Humbling Defeat

On Day 3, India, who were chasing a relatively small target of 124, disintegrated to 93 all out the South African spinners were just brilliant and India threw it away with their own lack of character.

Spin Overload: Not Once, But Twice

Sandhu was very direct with his statement. He said that it is absolutely unacceptable to lose while chasing such a minimal total against just two specialist spinners. He attributed this to contemporary batsmen who are not accustomed to close-in fielders and who do not have the necessary mental strength to handle such situations.

The T20 Effect

According to Sandhu, T20 cricket has gradually taken away the defensive skills from batsmen. He suggests that the short format of the game does not demand the same level of discipline and courage when the bowler is a spinner, hence the generation that has grown up in this format is less prepared for the mental side of Test cricket.

Domestic Cricket Deficit

Per Sandhu's argument, the Indian players have stopped playing the domestic circuit and, thus, have lost their playing "toughness" which basically means the kind of stamina one gets by facing different sorts of challenging and unpredictable pitches over a period of time.

Lessons From the Greats

Sandhu named Sachin Tendulkar as the brightest shining example whose footsteps the other players should follow. He brought to mind Tendulkar's hunger for the 1990 tour of England; he would bat every day, throw himself at the fast bowlers, and he would grind it out on the greener wickets. Sandhu can't understand why the players of today can't even come close to half of that perseverance.

A Leadership Vacuum

Sandhu, apart from the team players, raised questions about the management of the team. He felt that the coaching staff and the support staff do not really comprehend the strengths, the weaknesses, and the mental state of their players. Furthermore, he cautioned that being too relaxed about who will take over the roles of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli might end up having the opposite effect.

Bigger Issue, Bigger Alarm

What Sandhu points out is not only the bad performance of a certain day but rather, it is the indication of a much deeper problem behind it: lack of preparation, gradual technical foundation erosion, and quite an alarming drift away from traditions. As he said, “This is not just a loss if we don’t fix these mistakes, it’s a collapse of ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌identity.”