Indian national cricket team’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has publicly contradicted head coach Gautam Gambhir over his views on the pitch prepared for the first Test against the South African national cricket team.
Sitanshu Kotak said no one wanted a surface like the one created by the curators for the Test series opener at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens.
Gautam says he is responsible for everything – Sitanshu Kotak
India’s decision to install a bowling-friendly course at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens backfired badly for the Proteas, who suffered a humiliating 30-run defeat.
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The Kolkata pitch became a major point of debate, with several experts slamming the team management led by Gautam Gambhir for demanding such a poor surface despite having a strong team.
While Michael Vaughan, Harbhajan Singh, Kris Srikanth, Dale Steyn and other former cricketers opined that the pitch played a key role in India’s defeat, Gautam Gambhir felt otherwise.
After the match, manager Gautam Gambhir did not throw the curator under the bus and bluntly stated that he wanted the exact same pitch that was offered to him, slamming the batsman’s inability to play.
Now, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has refuted Gautam Gambhir’s views. Gambhir didn’t want to blame the curators, so he put the blame on himself, he said. Kotak said:
“You see, on the wicket of the last match, Gautam said that he was responsible for everything. He said he took the responsibility because he felt that the responsibility should not be put on the curators.”
I’m telling the truth. No one wanted it to turn out like this – Sitanshu Kotak
Coach Sitanshu Kotak added that no one wants to pitch a game that ends in two-and-a-half days, adding that he expects the spin to occur after three days. He elaborated:
“Now, what happened in the last game was that after a day it just kind of fell apart. There was a little bit of dirt[that lifted up after the pitch]. You all know that. That was unexpected. Even if we were expecting a spin, it was three days later or the evening of the third day. Sometimes it was the weather and sometimes the curators didn’t want it. I’m telling you the truth. No one wanted this to happen.”
“Now, from the second day on, the wicket was too dry. Or the top layer of the wicket was too dry. And there was a lot of turnover, so the layer underneath was very hard. That’s probably why this happened – that’s how I understand it. If not, just ask the curators. Nobody said the match should be over in two days, or that there should be a square turn.”
“I can tell you here that it’s the same every time you play a Test match for four to four-and-a-half days,” Kotak added.
Spin is our strength so we just need a little spin – Sitanshu Kotak
Sitanshu Kotak further said that a little help from spinners from the surface is enough. That is their strength, but he clearly denied blaming the pitch for India’s defeat against Temba Bavuma’s side at Eden Gardens.
“Spin is our strength, so we just need a bit of spin. Whether it’s the first day or the second day, the fast bowlers (always) stay in the game. If you look at the Ahmedabad Test (against West Indies)… the Delhi Test was a bit slow. But otherwise, the fast bowlers have always taken wickets,” Kotak offered.
“In Kolkata, it was a surprise when the mithi (sat) actually came out. No team would ask for it to explode (inflate) (on the second day). Everyone will understand that, but it’s not rocket science,” he added.
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