Sandeep Patil defends Gautam Gambhir after Test series loss against South Africa

Former Indian cricketer Sandeep Patil has put his weight behind head coach Gautam Gambhir after a 0-2 Test series loss against South Africa. While India suffered a 30-run loss at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, the hosts were hammered by a huge margin of 408 runs at Guwahati.

After the series loss, head coach Gautam Gambhir has received a lot of criticism from experts and fans. India has lost five out of their last seven Test matches at home under Gambhir’s tutelage and the pressure is mounting on the former Indian opener in the red-ball version.

“I’ve noticed that the whole of last week that everybody has been passing comments about Gambhir,” Patil told The Times of India. “However, those who have donned the national cap, taken responsibility as a head coach, haven’t spoken about it. Nobody is talking about the combination of players who have been selected. You played on a bad pitch, you lost. You played on a good pitch, you lost. What can the head coach do? It is wrong to point fingers at only one person,” he added.

Meanwhile, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri recently also slammed Gambhir’s selection tactics and Patil expressed surprise that former coaches are also passing negative remarks on the current head coach.

“It’s really surprising to me that those people who have not been an India coach and gone through that process are passing remarks left and right on Gambhir,” he said

Patil backed Gautam Gambhir to turn a corner in Test cricket and deliver the goods for the team.

“When Rahul Dravid became an India coach, he had a bad start… However, he finished on a high. Duncan Fletcher had a bad start… Gary had a bad start and Anil Kumble endured a rough period… We must allow the head coach, selectors and the players time to settle down. You cannot jump the gun. It’s very easy to say: ‘Nikalo isko,’ it’s not prudent to sack somebody like that,” he said.

Gambhir is currently coaching in the three-match ODI series against South Africa.