IND vs SA, 1st Test: Cheteshwar Pujara Blasts India's Team Management Post Loss In Kolkata, Says 'Not Acceptable...' | Video

India vs South Africa: Former India Test veteran Cheteshwar Pujara, who is known to be a 'cool and calm' individual on and off the field, has put out an 'uncharacteristically' harsh assessment of Team India after their loss against South Africa in the first Test in Kolkata. The 37-year-old, who recently hung up his boots in international Cricket, is part of the commentary team for the series.

Terming India's defeat in Test matches 'unacceptable', Pujara has given an honest assessment of India's performance.

Pujara called out the condition of the Eden Gardens pitch as one of the factors behind Team India's loss. He also thinks that India would have emerged victorious if they had played on a more favorable pitch.

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“I do not agree that just because of the transition, India will lose at home. I cannot digest the fact that India will lose at home. It is okay if they lose in Australia or England, but with the talent this new team possesses, India losing at home is not acceptable. Look at the first-class records of all the players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, every one of them has such a good record!” Pujara said.

“Despite that, if we are losing, it means something is wrong. If we played this match on a good wicket, then India might have won the game. So how do you define Test cricket? On this type of pitch (Eden Gardens), the opponent gets an equal opportunity as us. So play on good pitches. We have so much talent that even India A can win a match against South Africa. So hearing that India lost because of transition is not an excuse at all!” he added. Check out the video here:

 

 

 

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In the post-match presentation, India head coach Gautam Gambhir admitted that there were no issues with the pitch, and it was according to their demand.

"It was not an unplayable wicket, there were no demons," Gambhir said at the post-match media interaction.

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"If you are willing to put your head down and if you have a solid defense, if you have a temperament, you can definitely score runs," he said.

The match saw 38 wickets (as Shubman Gill was retired hurt) fall in just eight sessions and out of them the pacers had a share of 16, while spinners accounted for 22.