"Morne Morkel Can't Teach...": World Cup Winner To BCCI, Blasts Gautam Gambhir's 'Unacceptable' Decision-Making

The review of India's loss to South Africa in the first Test of a two-match series has mostly revolved around the pitch that Eden Gardens offered. While the pitch offered more turn than what is generally expected of a Day 2 or Day 3 wicket, the batting on display was mediocre too. Barring Temba Bavuma, rarely did any other batter show the patience and application needed to survive on a turning pitch. India had to bat in the fourth innings on such a tricky track and ultimately failed to chase a 124-run target.

India's 1983 World Cup winner Balwinder Singh Sandhu criticised India's strategy and also blasted the support staff "who seem more interested in keeping their positions safe than actually contributing."

"India's overall strategy was weak. On a pitch like that, one end needs to be tied down by a defensive bowler, and the other must attack in short, sharp bursts - Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Jadeja. That's how you build pressure. About our support staff - well, Morne Morkel can't teach Indian spinners anything new. And the less said about the batting coach, the better. The BCCI must take responsibility for appointing support staff who seem more interested in keeping their positions safe than actually contributing," Balwinder Singh Sandhu wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

"To Gautam Gambhir's credit, he accepted responsibility for the turner instead of blaming the pitch - politically correct, maybe not fully accurate. CAB President Sourav Ganguly acted quickly to shield the pitch from criticism and also highlighted Mohammed Shami's case. And I fully agree. Shami deserves a proper farewell, and he has proved his fitness through domestic cricket."

The former India pacer also criticised head coach Gautam Gambhir and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. He gave the example of New Zealand beating India in a Test series in 2024.

"New Zealand thrashed us in our own backyard not long ago. Yet we repeat the same errors. It clearly shows a poor understanding of our current players' abilities. For a head coach and batting coach, that's unacceptable. Being a coach myself, I feel any coach who has been around for years should know his team's strengths, weaknesses, and mindset inside out. We still don't know who is ready to step into the shoes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who, I feel, were moved out too quickly. Youngsters should be groomed around seniors, not at the cost of them," Sandhu wrote further.

"Then came the biggest blunder - playing four spinners when the opposition had only two. It showed complete confusion about who the main attacking spinner actually was. And ironically, pacers from both sides took the crucial wickets. Even the batting order showed a lack of game understanding."

Topics mentioned in this article

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