"Coach Is Not Playing Out There": Gautam Gambhir Gets Ultimate Support Amid Pitch Controversy
Did the Eden Gardens pitch for the first India vs South Africa Test have 'demons' in it or not? That is the debate raging in Indian cricket currently.
- Coach Gautam Gambhir is facing criticism for choosing a turning pitch in the 1st Test vs South Africa
- Gambhir received support from ex-India star Robin Uthappa amid the criticism: "Coach is not playing out there"
- "We are looking at the results and blaming a coach, but you have to look at the overall scenario," he added
Did the Eden Gardens pitch for the first India vs South Africa Test have 'demons' in it or not? That is the debate raging in Indian cricket currently. India failed to chase a 124-run target on Day 3 against South Africa, and many experts blamed the pitch chosen by the Indian team management. India coach Gautam Gambhir said that the side got the pitch they wanted and added that the wicket was not unplayable. With the Indian batters succumbing to the South African spinners, the visitors registered their first Test win in India since 2010.
Former players like Harbhajan Singh blamed the choice of pitch. However, Robin Uthappa said Gambhir should not be held responsible for the loss.
"I saw a comment yesterday suggesting that I was defending GG. Yaar, coach thodi jaake khel raha hai andar (The coach is not playing out there)," Uthappa said in a YouTube live session.
"We are looking at the results and blaming a coach, but you have to look at the overall scenario. When they criticised Rahul Dravid, it didn't make sense to me. Scoring 20-30 thousand international runs is not easy. So, if he can be trolled, anyone can be trolled."
Uthappa went on to add that poor pitches in domestic cricket get reprimanded but not in international matches.
"We had neutral curators come and control the kind of wickets we were going to prepare. Because if a game got over in two days, the groundsmen and association were reprimanded. But here, matches are getting over in two-and-a-half days. However, you say no to those types of wickets in the Ranji Trophy," he said.
"You are not encouraged to prepare turning tracks. Even if you are going to prepare a progressively turning track, where there would be a lot of turn on Day 3 and Day 4, you can actually develop batters who are equipped to play well against spin. We have been discouraged from doing that in the past 10 years, and you are taking the players to task for not playing spin well. How will they play if they don't play matches in those conditions?"
Gautam Gambhir
Robin Uthappa
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team