Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly backed head coach Gautam Gambhir after India’s 30-run loss to South Africa in the first Test at Eden Gardens. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president spoke openly about the pitch controversy and admitted that the surface prepared for the match was not good enough for Test cricket.
In a conversation with India Today, Ganguly said, “No, no, I don’t get involved at all,” when asked if the team took his opinion about the pitch. He explained that “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 also accepted that the pitch condition was far from ideal for such a match. He said, “It was not the greatest, I’llhave 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.”
Eden curator Sujan Mukherjee accepted that he was following the instructions of the management. Ganguly added, “Sometimes it is beyond our control… you keep the captain and the coach’s request.”
Despite the defeat, Ganguly backed Gambhir, saying there was “no question of sacking Gautam Gambhir at this stage”.He also praised Gambhir and Shubman Gill for their performance in England and expressed confidence they can succeed at home too: “I firmly believe that they can do well in India as well.”
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