"Took All The Blame": India Coach Defends Gautam Gambhir With Stunning Remark
Head coach Gautam Gambhir has been facing backlash after the Indian team failed to chase down 124 on a tricky surface at the Eden Gardens.
- Sitanshu Kotak has defended Gautam Gambhir after the loss to South Africa in the first Test
- The India head coach has faced heavy scrutiny after the team failed to chase 124 runs
- "Everyone is talking about Gambhir. He took all the blame for the pitch in the last match," said Kotak
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has defended Gautam Gambhir following the team's debacle last week in the 1st Test against South Africa in Kolkata. Head coach Gambhir continues to face backlash after the Indian team failed to chase down 124 on a tricky surface at the Eden Gardens. Kotak, who was appointed India's batting coach in January 2025, suggested that Gambhir isn't the only one to blame for the loss, adding that the players and the support staff could have done things differently.
"Everyone is talking about Gautam Gambhir. No one is saying that the batsmen, the bowlers or the support staff could have done things differently,"Â Kotak said during a press conference on Thursday.
Kotak also defended the chief curator at Eden Gardens, Sujan Mukherjee, over the criticism of pitch, adding that even the management didn't expect the ball to grip that much, that too on the second day.
"When we play a Test at home or travel abroad, every home team plays to its strengths. Ever since I became the batting coach, we have opted for spin-friendly tracks in India. We always hoped that a match goes on four days at least, and the ball should turn a bit since spin is our strength. In the last match, as well all saw, the pitch was a dusty and was also crumbling a bit. That was unexpected. We thought that the spinners would come into play properly from the third day. Even the curators didn't expect that. Seeing that much turn on the second day is not normal. It probably happened because the top layer was dry and the pitch underneath was hard since it was rolled a lot," he added.
The former Saurashtra head coach also shared his views on Gambhir's defending Sujan after the loss in Kolkata.
"Gautam took all the blame for the pitch in the last match. He simply said that we had requested for such pitch as he didn't want to throw the curators under the bus"
He said the criticism is sometimes agenda-driven.
"Maybe some people individually have agendas. Good luck to them, but it is very bad," the former Saurashtra left hander said.
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team
Gautam Gambhir