India’s 30-run defeat to South Africa at Eden Gardens reignited a familiar debate: why does a team with such extraordinary batting depth keep stumbling on tricky pitches, be it spin in Ahmedabad against New Zealand, reverse swing in Delhi, or seam in Chennai during England’s 2021 tour? Every time India lose at home, the easy narrative is that our batters “struggle on tough wickets”. But that argument ignores a more uncomfortable truth: the modern selection and development ecosystem has tilted so dramatically towards T20 batting that India’s supply line of pure Test specialists has been unintentionally squeezed.
And yet, paradoxically, India is one of the few countries that can absolutely afford and desperately needs a core of 5–6 batters groomed specifically for Test cricket.
The Skill Mismatch: What Modern Demand Has Done to Technique
In domestic circles, it’s common to hear a young batter say they didn’t make a T20 XI because they are “not a specialist”. But the stigma runs deeper: they’re often made to feel their technical solidity is outdated or irrelevant. Coaches and selectors at the state level openly prioritise “intent”, now almost exclusively defined as boundary-hitting. A batter who defends well, leaves well, and grinds out runs in red-ball cricket is frequently labelled too slow for modern cricket, even when they pile up 700–900 runs in a Ranji season.
This pressure shapes training habits. Technique-heavy batters stop working on defensive skills, fearing that anchoring makes them unattractive picks. Young players spend disproportionate time on power hitting, even when their natural game isn’t built for it. Over time, a format-specific skill imbalance emerges: we have an oversupply of T20-ready players and an undersupply of long-format craftsmen.
Why India Needs Test Specialists And Why India Can Afford Them
India plays more competitive domestic red-ball cricket than almost any other nation. Ranji Trophy has 38 teams, hundreds of matches, and produces batters who face every variety of surface: green-tops in Lahli, slow turners in Chennai, raging bunseno in Indore. If there is one country with both the structural depth and the population funnel to maintain dedicated Test specialists, it is India.
It’s not just theoretical depth; the evidence is on the field.
Examples That Strengthen the Argument
- India’s best successful Test spells came with format specialists.
Between 2016–2021, India’s most dominant Test stretch, the core batting group consisted of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay and Mayank Agarwal at various times. Except Kohli, none were T20 stars. All were pure red-ball players with compact technique, clarity in defensive strokes, and patience to bat long. This was the same period where India won Tests in Australia, competed fiercely in South Africa, and went 35 Tests unbeaten at home.
- The template works abroad for other teams too.
Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja are demonstrably Test-first cricketers. Khawaja’s renaissance, from averaging low-30s to becoming a force in the 2023 Ashes, came through long-format discipline, not T20 flair. England’s Joe Root is another player who prioritises technique, tempo control and red-ball craft. None of them are built on modern white-ball “intent”, and yet they are pillars in their Test teams.
- Recent collapses show a gap in temperament, not talent.
At Eden Gardens, India chasing 124 on a turning pitch should have been a grind, not a sprint. But collapses in home conditions often stem from trying to impose white-ball tempo on red-ball conditions. Similar patterns occurred in:
- Wankhede 2021 vs New Zealand: India’s top order was rattled by Ajaz Patel because they couldn’t trust their block-and-leave game.
- Nagpur 2023 vs Australia (first Test): India’s eventual win overshadowed the fact that the top order again looked rushed early on.
- Pune 2024 vs New Zealand (2nd Test): Mitchell Santner exposed India’s hesitation against sustained spin pressure, forcing defensive indecision and leading to another dramatic collapse.
- Mumbai 2024 vs New Zealand(3rd Test): Ajaz and Santner combined to dismantle India again, with batters offering no response to traditional Test-match spin, resulting in a 3–0 series defeat at home.
These weren’t failures of ability, they were failures of red-ball adaptability, a skill honed only through long-format grooming.
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The White-Ball Bias: What It Has Cost Indian Batting
Over the last seven years, IPL has shaped the evaluation matrix. “Strike rate” has become the dominant currency, even in domestic red-ball cricket. Batters get fast-tracked into India squads through IPL consistency rather than Ranji excellence. Players who score 1,000 runs in Ranji find themselves ignored, while those with explosive T20 seasons leapfrog them.
This comes with a consequence: the Test team increasingly features batters tuned to 120-ball rhythms rather than 300-ball battles.
It’s not a criticism of players, they’re adapting to the incentives placed before them. It’s a criticism of the system that stopped rewarding the virtues of Test cricket.
India’s Solution Should Mirror Its Strengths: Format-Specific Squads
If India can pick fitness-specific T20 bowlers, yorker specialists, wrist-spinners for middle overs, and death-over finishers, why can’t it pick format specialists for Tests? Test cricket is a distinct sport, it requires:
- the ability to play late
- compact defensive technique
- judgement outside off stump
- patience to bat through sessions
- mental endurance across five days
These traits rarely overlap with T20 skills. And that’s okay, because a diversified talent pool allows India to build both types of players.
A Dedicated Test Specialist Core Will Actually Improve Results
If India identifies 5–6 Test-only batters, players who commit to Ranji, Duleep, India A tours, and county stints, two things will happen:
- They will gain experience on every type of pitch, not just flat IPL surfaces.
- They will carry the muscle memory of long-format batting, allowing them to survive difficult spells, not just dominate easy conditions.
India has the bench strength to do this without weakening white-ball cricket. In fact, it will strengthen both formats by reducing the skill confusion currently in the system.
The Real Point: Stop Making Technically Sound Batters Feel Inferior
Not every talented batter is meant to hit sixes on demand. Some are meant to bat for six hours. India’s domestic structure produces both, but only one type feels valued consistently.
If the system validates Test specialists, young players will again dare to build solid techniques without fearing exclusion. The result will be a Test team better equipped for tough pitches, at home and away.
Blaming players for collapses is easy. Understanding the systemic shift that produced those collapses is harder. India’s defeats in challenging conditions aren’t indicators of a talent shortage, they’re signs of a selection philosophy misaligned with Test cricket’s demands.
With the world’s richest talent reservoir and the best red-ball domestic ecosystem, India is perfectly positioned to build a team of true Test specialists.
And maybe that’s exactly what the team needs to look at now.
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