The first question that Gautam Gambhir faced at the post-match press conference after India’s 30-run defeat against South Africa in the first Test at Eden Gardens was about the ability of the current crop of players to play spin on turners. In public, India's head coach protected his batsmen.
“We should not compare different eras. There was no DRS (during our time). There are a lot of youngsters in this dressing room. There is not much experience in batting from top to bottom. I think more than skill, mental toughness is also required in Test match cricket," he said.
The question on the Eden pitch was expected and it came in due course. Gambhir once again defended the choice to play on a Bunsen. “This is exactly the pitch we were looking for,” he stonewalled. “This is exactly the pitch. And I feel that, as I just mentioned before, that the curator was very, very helpful and this is exactly what we wanted and this is exactly what we got. When you don't play well, this is what happens."
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Last year, India played a five-Test home series against England and they won it 4-1, with the matches being played on good pitches. In the summer this year, India returned from England with a creditable 2-2 from a five Test series. All the matches were played on placid pitches. India didn't learn from their mistakes of playing on square turners against New Zealand last year, notwithstanding a 3-0 home whitewash. Choosing a lottery pitch for the first Test against the World Test Champions was a mistake, but the head coach seemingly remains in dental.
Apart from the pitch, the think-tank needs to look into the team composition also, ahead of the second Test in Guwahati starting on November 22. An overload of left-handers in the batting line-up is working to India's disadvantage against Simon Harmer's off-spin. This will always be a problem, especially on turning pitches.
In the first Test, India had six left-handers in their batting line-up, and of Harmer's eight wickets in the match, six were southpaws. It is learnt that bringing back Sai Sudharsan is a possibility in Guwahati, but that doesn't solve the left-handers overload problem. Left is not always right.
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Shubman Gill is doubtful for the second Test, for he needs at least four-five days to recover fully. It would be remiss of the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee and the team management not to add Ruturaj Gaikwad or Sarfaraz Khan to the squad. The former is in excellent form in the Ranji Trophy. He has also scored a hundred and a half-century against South Africa A in the 50-over format.
As for Sarfaraz, he is a domestic cricket thoroughbred, someone who plays spin very well.
