Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar expressed concern over the state of Indian red-ball cricket after the team suffered a 0-2 loss against South Africa in the Test leg of the home series, stressing that results in the longest format remain the truest measure of a nation’s cricketing health. India’s domestic season has generated mixed emotions. The return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the ODI series produced celebratory scenes and headline-grabbing performances, while the youthful T20I side continued to impress despite a few rough edges. Still, these positives did little to ease the pain of another home Test lime, India’s second in back-to-back years, that left supporters deeply unsettled.
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While defeats at home are not unheard of and long unbeaten streaks are eventually broken, the manner of India’s collapse stood out. A batting unit loaded with proven talent was repeatedly undone by South Africa’s disciplined bowling attack, led by spinner Simon Harmer and tall left-arm pacer Marco Jansen on challenging surfaces. The Indian batters were also comprehensively outclassed by the Proteas line-up in both Tests. The disappointment follows on the heels of a 0–3 home record against New Zealand last year, suffered despite the presence of senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin. Recently, the younger Indian team, captained by Rishabh Pant in place of the injured Shubman Gill, was unable to arrest the slide, adding to the sense of unease among the fans.
Posted by Sanjay Manjrekar
Manjrekar took the X to highlight the significance of the failure, arguing that Test cricket still casts the longest shadow. He wrote that while India may have won the ODI and T20I series against South Africa, it is the 2-0 defeat in Tests that still lingers. According to him, the Test results reveal the true state of the country’s cricket and addressing the issues in the format must remain a priority. India now face a stretch dominated by white-ball cricket, with three ODIs and five T20Is against New Zealand, followed by the ICC T20 World Cup and the IPL next year. As a result, it will be several months before the team returns to Test action. Currently, India are ranked sixth in the ICC World Test Championship standings with four wins, four losses and one draw, representing a points percentage of 48.15. Australia leads the table with a perfect percentage, followed by South Africa with 75.
