“Gautam Gambhir took all the blame on himself” - Batting coach defends head coach on Eden Gardens pitch controversy

Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has defended the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has been under constant criticism, after India suffered a 30-run defeat to South Africa in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

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Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Kotak asserted that Gambhir took all the blame on himself as he didn’t want to see the blame falling onto the Eden Gardens pitch curator. Interestingly, Gambhir stated that he was the one who asked for such a pitch in Kolkata and added that there were no demons on the surface.

“At the press conference after the last match, Gautam (Gambhir) took all the blame on himself. He did that because he felt the blame should not fall on the curator,” Kotak told reporters at the Barsapara Stadium on Thursday.

Furthermore, Kotak also suggested agendas were in play against Gambhir after India’s defeat to the Proteas. Notably, a total of 38 wickets fell inside three days on the surface that didn’t assist batters from the opening day of the Test.

“People are just saying Gautam Gambhir, Gautam Gambhir… No one is saying that this batsman did this, a certain bowler did that, or maybe I could do something different as a batting coach,” he added.

“From the last 30-35 matches India has played, we have lost just two games or so. No one is giving credit for all the games we won. Based on the two matches that we have lost, everyone’s going ‘Gautam Gambhir, Gautam Gambhir’. Maybe some individuals have some agendas. Good luck to them, but it is very bad,” he concluded.

Interestingly, Team India suffered a fourth consecutive defeat to SENA nations at home after losing to New Zealand by 0-3 earlier last year. India will next take on South Africa in the second and final Test of the two-match series, Guwahati, starting on Saturday, November 22.

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