Shamik Chakrabarty in Guwahati
Two days before the Test, the pitch at the ACA Stadium at Barsapara here in Guwahati had a tinge of green. In fact, the ground staff were working on two strips, both red-soil surfaces, and as India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said at the press conference, the pitch is expected to play better vis-à-vis Eden Gardens.
Guwahati is hosting its first-ever Test. It has played host to white-ball internationals before but any centre takes hosting the game’s purest format as a badge of honour. Guwahati is also BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia’s home town. A poor pitch could be a poor advertisement for the venue, and by the look of it, the 22 yards here appear pretty decent.
“See, as regards the pitch for the last match, Gautam (Gambhir) took all the blame on himself,” Kotak launched his staunch defence of India’s head coach at the presser. “I will talk (about) all the honest things, what I know and what I feel. I can tell you from the time I have come here, every time it is the same thing that we play a Test match for 4-5 days. We just need a little spin because spin is our strength. Now, what happened in the last match, after a day, it felt like it was crumbling. All of you could see that. That was not expected. Even if spin was expected, it was after three days or on the third day in the evening.”
Kotak continued with his support for Gambhir. “People are saying Gautam Gambhir, Gautam Gambhir, Gautam Gambhir,” he said. “No one is saying that this batsman did this, this bowler did that, or that we can do something different in batting. I believe that even if you become over-defensive on a turning track, you can still get caught because the bowler will start bowling consistently (in one area). So, either you try to play busy cricket, or you take the game to a one-day mode, where they can’t even attack and can’t constantly put the ball in one place.
“Now, in India, in the last 30-35 matches, the 25-27 matches that we have won, no one is giving credit for that. In the two matches (series) that we are coming to, Gautam Gambhir, Gautam Gambhir is doing this. I am saying this because I am a staff (member) and I feel bad. That’s not the way. Maybe some people individually have an agenda. Good luck to them, but it is very bad.”
As expected, Shubman Gill didn’t turn up for practice on Thursday. Kotak said the skipper is recovering well, but even if he recovers fully, it would be essential to ensure that he doesn’t develop the spasms again mid-game. “If there is a doubt, then I am sure, he will take a rest for one more game, because it won’t be helpful to the team (to play without him being fully fit),” said the batting coach. “Now, a player like Shubman, and a captain, any team would miss. But if he is missing out because of an injury, then, obviously we have batters, and we have players, and we have plenty of good players.”
The fact of the matter is that Gill is out of the second Test and Rishabh Pant will lead. In the former’s absence, who will bat at No. 4? “See, (Dhruv) Jurel batted there in the second inning (in Kolkata), so he is one option anyway,” said Kotak. “Now, what combination we go with, that I also don’t know, because until we know about Shubman, there is no point talking too much about who will play. So, once we know, and once we see the wicket… what sort of combination we go with, that probably is best to discuss, or think about it tomorrow.”
The batting coach didn’t agree that having an overload of left-handers in the batting line-up is a problem against Simon Harmer’s off-spin.
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