Sitanshu Kotak defends Gautam Gambhir after Kolkata pitch controversy in 1st Test against South Africa

India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has come up with a totally different statement regarding the Kolkata pitch after the opening Test match against South Africa. After India was stunned by 30 runs, head coach Gautam Gambhir said there were no demons in the pitch and they wanted a track like this against the Proteas.

However, Kotak revealed that even the curator, Sujan Mukherjee, didn’t expect the surface to play like the way it played. Kotak added that Gautam Gambhir took the blame of the pitch on his shoulders as he wanted to shield the curator from any criticism. 

After the loss, Gambhir has been under the scrutiny for his statement and now Kotak has added a new twist to the story.

Sitanshu Kotak said in a presser on Thursday, “Gautam said he took the blame on himself because he didn’t want the curators to take the blame. Definitely, when we play in India—just like other countries play to their strengths—we rely on spin. We usually expect matches to last four to four-and-a-half days with some help for spin. Fast bowlers remain in the game on Day 1 and Day 2.”

“What happened in the last game was unexpected. After Day 1, the pitch started crumbling. Even the curator didn’t want that. Spin was expected, but not that much, and certainly not on Day 1 or the morning of Day 2.

Kotak said it is unfair that the players are only talking about Gautam Gambhir and the batting unit is not been questioned for failing to chase down 124 runs in the second innings.

“People are only talking about Gautam Gambhir. Nobody is mentioning what the batters did or even what the batting coach could have done better. In the games we lose, it becomes all about Gambhir. Maybe some people have their individual agendas, which is very bad,” Kotak added.

Speaking on the batting plan, Kotak said, “We can only discuss things before the match. Someone needs to take risks, someone needs to play busy cricket. These are things we talk about.”

India and South Africa will take on each other in the second Test at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, from Saturday onwards.