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Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan made a huge statement involving Marco Jansen and Jasprit Bumrah after India's 408-run loss in the second Test against South Africa. With the defeat, the hosts crashed to a 0-2 whitewash at home.
Marco Jansen was the 'Player of the Match' in the second Test, contributing with both bat and ball. He scored 93 runs in the first innings and picked up six wickets. Jansen ended the series with 12 wickets, playing a major role in South Africa's triumph. Irfan reckoned that Jansen was ahead of Bumrah in terms of impact and wickets, which was a matter of concern.
"Marco Jansen has gone ahead of Bumrah. If we talk of impact in batting, bowling, the way he was getting bounce and getting wickets. Our fast bowlers, who we think are the best, if we think Bumrah is the best, if someone is going ahead of him in wickets and impact, we are lagging," he said on his YouTube channel.
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India struggled to play spin as well throughout the series. The South African spinners dominated in both games. Irfan Pathan called for the need to bring in players who could spin well by rewarding those doing well in domestic cricket. He questioned the exclusion of the likes of Sarfaraz Khan.
"You will have to award players who are doing well in domestic cricket and batting well against spin. If someone like Sarfaraz is out, at least on pure cricketing reasons, it is beyond my understanding as to why such players are not in the team. You will have to bring them in. Otherwise, you will have clearly evident problems," he added.
South Africa's spinners Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj bagged 23 wickets between themselves across the two Tests.
Irfan Pathan's message to India ahead of future assignments
Irfan Pathan also warned India ahead of their next Test assignments. He highlighted the need to target and bring in batters who could play spin well and begin preparing them. India will next play a Test series in August 2026 when they tour Sri Lanka, followed by another away tour of New Zealand in November 2026.
Their next home Test series will be against Australia beginning in January 2027.
"You are playing five Tests against Australia at home next, against Sri Lanka away, you will get conditions where you will have to play spin well and you need to prepare for it from now. Target players who play spin well, track their performances and give them more chances. Back them. Give them all the games and stability," he said.
Further, Irfan reckoned that it was almost impossible for India to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 final from here on.
"I think qualifying for the WTC final is extremely difficult now and you will have to win all the games. You have start preparing from now itself, if you do not, you will face more problems going forward. There are many questions that the Indian team will have answer."
Following the defeat against South Africa, they dropped to the fifth position with just four wins in nine matches in the ongoing cycle.
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