BCCI Breaks Silence On Gautam Gambhir Facing Criticism After India's Loss In 1st Test vs South Africa

Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir came under a lot of criticism following the 30-run loss against South Africa in the first Test encounter at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. India failed to post a decent total on both occasions and chasing 124 for victory, they were bundled out for just 93. Gambhir was also criticised for asking for a spin-friendly pitch - a decision that backfired for the hosts - and also sending Washington Sundar to bat at No. 3. However, amid the rising criticism, Gambhir found support from Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia. In a recent interaction, Saikia made it clear that the head coach has the backing of BCCI, irrespective of the social media chatter.

"The BCCI has full confidence in our selectors, our coaching team, including the head coach and the players. We do not distinguish anybody. We give full support and that is why they are doing well. As you were saying, if somebody is losing a match, there is flak on social media," he told RevSportz.

"That we are always ignoring, because at the same time, with the same team, we are winning the Champions Trophy, we are performing exceedingly well in the Asia Cup, we won the trophy and we levelled the series against England in England," he added.

Earlier, India's batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, defended head coach Gautam Gambhir, expressing disapproval of the criticism directed at him following India's defeat to South Africa in the first Test in Kolkata. Kotak believes this criticism is coming from people with their individual agendas.

India suffered a 30-run defeat in the Kolkata Test, marking their fourth home Test loss in the past year under Gautam Gambhir's coaching.

"Gautam took the blame on himself because he didn't want the curators to take the blame. Definitely, when we play in India--just like other countries play to their strengths--we rely on spin. We usually expect matches to last four to four-and-a-half days with some help for spin. Fast bowlers remain in the game on Day 1 and Day 2," Sitanshu Kotak said.

"People are only talking about Gautam Gambhir. Nobody is mentioning what the batters did or even what the batting coach could have done better. In the games we lose, it becomes all about Gambhir. Maybe some people have their individual agendas," Kotak added.

(With IANS inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Gautam Gambhir India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team India vs South Africa 2025, India Cricket