‘Hope Gautam Gambhir is listening’: Sourav Ganguly sends message to India coach after Kolkata defeat

Sourav Ganguly sends message to Gautam Gambhir after Kolkata Test defeat. (Photo: X)

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has asked Gautam Gambhir, the country's current coach, to ignore the nature of the pitch and instead focus on helping the batsmen score big runs.

The 53-year-old believed that the current Indian team had won two Tests and drawn the series 2-2 in England a few months ago because they had scored runs.

Ganguly reaffirmed that India should strive to win Test matches in five days rather than three, and that they should try to play on more truer surfaces.

“Play on good wickets. I hope Gautam Gambhir is listening. He needs to take the wicket out of the game. Because if his batsmen are not putting up 350–400, he will not win Test matches. That’s the reason they won in England – because his batsmen put runs up on the board. He must play on good wickets. And trust his people. And win Test matches in 5 days. Not in 3 days,” Ganguly told NDTV.

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Ganguly claimed to have a lot of time for Gambhir, the coach, despite India's dismal home record against elite teams over the past 12 months. According to the former captain, India should play on decent pitches since their bowling assault is capable to winning on truer wickets.

“I have got a lot of time for him. A lot of regard. He is a competitor. He has done well for India as a coach. But he must play on good wickets. Because he has got Bumrah, he has got Siraj, he has got Shami, he has got Kuldeep, he has got Jadeja,” he said.

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Ganguly's remarks follow India's loss to South Africa in the first Test of the two-match series in Kolkata to go 0-1 down. India lost their fourth consecutive home Test match to a SENA nation after being bowled out for 93 while chasing 124 runs for victory on a pitch turning square.