E-Paper
Sign in
'Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman kept scoring 400-500 runs’: Gambhir’s lack of faith in specialists upsets former cricketers
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has been subjected to severe criticism from all corners after India's loss in the first Test against South Africa.
Gone are the days of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly. The Indian batters, using their feet and dancing down the track to hit boundaries or rotate the strike, look like a distant dream now. The past year has seen the hosts squandering their advantage on home soil, being whitewashed by New Zealand, and now going down against Temba Bavuma's South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The loss against the Proteas now sees India staring down the barrel, and the chance of losing another home series is just too real.
After India's 30-run loss in the Freedom Trophy opener at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India head coach Gautam Gambhir launched a passionate defence of the pitch, saying the curator cannot be blamed as he dished out exactly what was asked of him by the hosts' management. It is worth mentioning that India produced rank turners against the Kiwis last year, and the likes of Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips ran riot. So, one expected India to learn from their mistakes and offer good sporting tracks, which had something on offer for all parties concerned.
Eden Gardens' curator Sujan Mukherjee was well on his way to do just that. However, just four days before the start of the Test, Gambhir and the rest of the management kept their foot down, demanding that the pitch offer turn, and this led to the 22 yards not being watered. The result - Variable bounce and no support for batters at all, and it was just another case of India falling into their own trap. Whoever follows Indian cricket will be able to tell that this current Indian lineup is not great at handling spin; however, the management still went against the norm, and it's no surprise that a lot of criticism has been flung towards Gambhir, especially for being too rigid and not learning from mistakes.
Priyank Panchal, a domestic cricket stalwart in India, said a good pitch offers something for all parties involved. However, rather than focusing on the pitch, he spoke at length about the importance of having a good defence and not constantly looking for get-out-of-jail shots.
Also Read: Shubman Gill released from India's squad a day before 2nd Test against South Africa in Guwahati
"We want pitches that should be fair for everyone. The same point was raised by Cheteshwar Pujara, and I agree with him. He has played a lot of cricket, and he knows things better than anyone else. Pitches definitely decide so many things. We were clearly struggling. Shubman was not there, but you cannot rely on pitches. The game is also important. We have seen that the grind which is required as a Test player on these pitches has gone missing. The same was shown by Temba Bavuma," Priyank told Hindustan Times.
"Even if you attack, the bowler will not get unsettled by just one or two shots. You have to grind it out. You need solid defensive technique. The team should focus on this because if you have a good defensive technique, then you can survive in the middle," he added.
On the other hand, Pravin Amre, known for coaching Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, and Suresh Raina in an individual capacity, defended the management, saying he understands why they would have opted for spinning tracks.
"Well, I think for any team like they all take their home advantage. When we go to South Africa and Australia. So, they will ensure that we play on the hardest and bounciest track, basically. Because we are not used to it. When it comes to playing spinners, I think we were always dominant in that," Amre told HT.
"But we have to give the credit to the South African unit. And we understood now why they were number one in the last World Test Championship. Because I think the adaptation from their batting unit was tremendous. As we can see, Temba Bavuma was the only player to score 50 on that wicket. It shows the temperament, and it is also a skill. And I think it's more than that, that determination. And I think willpower is also critical for batting," he added.
'No faith in specialists'
Under Gambhir, another key area of concern is the growing lack of faith in specialists. Ever since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia last year, the former India opener has been hell bent on having batting depth and playing more bits-and-pieces cricketers. Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran are among the best spin bowlers in domestic cricket, but they have slowly and steadily been phased out of the reckoning.
The Kolkata Test saw India playing four spinners - Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, out of which three are all-rounders. The tactic has been criticised from all sides by many pundits. Panchal too believes that Tests are about having specialists doing the job, and it's about time the team realises that.
"I agree to the fact of having specialists in the Test team. Take the example of Temba Bavuma, who is a specialist. He is a batter. He doesn't bowl much. It is his responsibility, and it becomes his job to score runs and do the grind for his team. Specialists have the responsibility. I agree to the idea of having more specialists," he said.
"In the past, Sachin, Rahul and Laxman sir were there. They were specialists, and they kept on scoring 400-500 runs. It is important to have specialists in the team. In T20S, there is an importance for all-rounders, but one must understand that in T20S, all-rounders are used to create an impact at a specific point in the game. We don't need a small impact in T20S; rather, we need a larger impact. And this is why you need the specialists in the frontline," he concluded.
