'Indian batters have become NRIs': Sanjay Manjrekar drops explosive claim after home series collapse

Sanjay Manjrekar has delivered a sharp assessment of India’s growing batting concerns in home Test cricket, highlighting how the side has now dropped two of their last three series on their own turf. In both those defeats, India were thoroughly outclassed and even handed a clean sweep. The latest setback came against South Africa, where India’s batters repeatedly collapsed and their shortcomings against spin became painfully clear. The visitors’ batters looked far more comfortable on the same surfaces, exposing a worrying flaw in India’s traditional stronghold.

Across the two-Test series, only Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja managed to accumulate more than 100 runs. Seasoned names such as KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant endured difficult outings, while Yashasvi Jaiswal produced just one notable innings before fading away in the remainder of the series.



According to Manjrekar, these defeats are rooted in structural issues rather than short-term form. He believes Indian batters who excel in domestic cricket often lose touch with home conditions once they transition into the national setup, spending long stretches overseas and returning underprepared for spin-heavy tracks.

“There are two reasons India went down 0-3 to New Zealand and 0-2 to South Africa at home. And both teams beat India not by pace, swing or bounce but by spin. One is when an Indian batter scores heavily in domestic cricket and gets selected for India, he becomes like an NRI. In the sense that he hardly plays at home. It’s more overseas cricket for Indian batters,” Manjrekar explained on Instagram.

India’s young lineup had impressed on their tour of England, showing resilience and technique in challenging conditions. But that same confidence has not translated when they return home.

Manjrekar stressed that players like Jaiswal, Rahul, Shubman Gill and Pant are turning up for home Tests without real match-time on spin-friendly first-class pitches, leaving them ill-equipped for the demands of Indian conditions.

“Looking at numbers, people like Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant play anything between nine to 12 Test matches away from home the last two years and in India not as many. And when they play Tests at home, there are hardly any first-class matches that they’ve played. So they come very poorly trained or any recent experience on those kinds of pitches,” he added.

Manjrekar’s comments underline a growing concern: India’s biggest batting challenges may no longer be overseas, but right in their own backyard.


Get an chance to win ₹5000 Amazon Voucher by taking part in India's Biggest Habit Index! Take the survey here