Sourav Ganguly's Honest Reply When Asked If Gautam Gambhir Should Be Sacked As Test Coach
Sourav Ganguly was also asked if Gautam Gambhir should be sacked due to India's poor home Test record under him.
- India's defeat in Kolkata raises questions about Gautam Gambhir's future as Test coach
- Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was asked about Gambhir's position as Test coach
- Ganguly backed the coach, saying: "There is no question of sacking Gautam Gambhir at this stage"
The first Test between India and South Africa went firmly in favour of the tourists, who secured a 30-run victory to go 1-0 up in the series. While India were a batter short due to Shubman Gill's injury absence, the nature of the Eden Gardens pitch, many feel, played a significant role in the hosts' defeat. Sourav Ganguly, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president, has shared the SOP when it comes to preparation of pitches in India, narrating how the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) curators take over the pitch four days before the start of the match.
"No, no, I don't get involved at all," he told India Today when asked if his opinion and expertise were sought by the Indian team management before the nature of the pitch was finalised. "Curators from the BCCI come and take over the wickets four days before the Test match. We have our own curator (Sujan Mukherjee) as well, who's done exceptionally well for a long time. The requests are made, and you keep the requests. That's what it is."
Ganguly had no qualms in admitting that the nature of the pitch wasn't the 'greatest', saying the Indian team deserves a better surface to bat on.
"It was not the greatest, I'll have to completely admit, and I think the top-order batting, the middle-order batting, you know, deserves a better cricketing surface. It was a full house at Eden Gardens for those three days, and I completely believe that Gautam Gambhir and his team in India must play on much better wickets than what they played at Eden Gardens," said Ganguly.
Even Sujan Mukherjee, the Eden Gardens curator, said that he simply followed the instructions given to him by the Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team management.
"Sometimes it is beyond our control, and we try to keep the request of the team and the coach, and the captain. And that is what we do, so that's what it is. And you've heard Gautam Gambhir say after the game that he wanted that sort of a pitch and was given that sort of a pitch. So you keep the captain and the coach's request," he added.
The Kolkata Test loss puts Gambhir in a tough spot as far as India's home Test record is concerned. However, Ganguly doesn't feel there's a need to sack the India coach yet.
"There is no question of sacking Gautam Gambhir at this stage," he said, praising both the coach and the captain for an "exceptional" performance in England.
"Gautam as a coach and Shubman as a captain did exceptionally well in England on good batting pitches, and I firmly believe that they can do well in India as well," he concluded.
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team
Gautam Gambhir