After five humbling defeats, Shubman Gill and co. to ditch raging turners at home

NEW DELHI: In the past 18 months, India's home fortress in Test cricket has not only been breached but ransacked with utter defiance by New Zealand and South Africa's spinners. India were handed a 0-3 whitewash by New Zealand 2024 and, a year later, suffered a 0-2 loss against South Africa. The defeats in those five Tests have left India reeling at No. 6 in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, with their hopes of qualifying for the final hanging by a thread.

One of the biggest learnings from these defeats is that the Indian team management is likely to move away from preparing raging turners, TimesofIndia.com can confirm. If the 0-3 defeat to New Zealand was an eye-opener, the 0-2 loss to South Africa has prompted the management to opt for surfaces that offer gradual wear and tear instead. Multiple discussions regarding this have already taken place, and this also played a role in selecting venues for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in 2027.



Indian team is not averse to turning tracks but prefers surfaces offering gradual wear and tear over red-soil surfaces that provide sharp turn, variable bounce and deteriorate from Day 1 -- something seen during the Eden Gardens Test against South Africa, which ended inside three days. Black soil, mixed soil and traditional Indian pitches are going to be the way forward as the think tank wants the team to have the best possible chance. Indian batters' inability to play quality spin on turning tracks also played a role.

"Mullanpur, Nagpur, Chennai, Guwahati, Ranchi and Ahmedabad are the venues for India's next six home Tests, and they have been carefully selected keeping the pitches, soil and conditions in mind. Most of these venues offer red, black and mixed-soil options, but all of them can produce tracks that will last five days. Our batters haven't looked comfortable playing on turners that start breaking from Day 1, and early finishes are not broadcaster-friendly either," a source tracking developments told TimesofIndia.com.

The first of the six home Tests will be the one-off fixture against Afghanistan in Mullanpur starting June 6, and it is expected to have the traditional subcontinent flavour. The mercury will be soaring in that region, so significant emphasis will be placed on preparing a surface that holds together under the unforgiving sun. A curator explained why black soil must be the way forward considering what the current team management wants.

"Mullanpur has a red-soil option too, if I am not wrong, but at that temperature it will not be a wise move to play on red soil. Black soil has to be the ideal choice not just for the Afghanistan game but also for the home series against Australia. Guwahati has a mixed square, Chennai has a mixed square, Ranchi and Nagpur produced good pitches the last time matches were played there, and Ahmedabad gives you multiple options to choose from.

"The nature of red soil is such that it will break sooner rather than later. So black soil is the best bet for gradual wear and tear. Again, if you try changing the pitch closer to the match, it will always backfire, so it is better to have the messaging sorted well in advance," explained a seasoned curator.


India had opted for a similar approach during the home Tests against the West Indies, but they decided to return to turners for the South Africa Tests. The move backfired, resulting in another Test series defeat at home. The men who matter do not want a repeat of the twin embarrassment, and sporting pitches are the first step in that direction.

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