Sourav Ganguly Calls Out Gautam Gambhir Over Eden Gardens Pitch Criticism, Asks For Mohammed Shami's Return After India's Defeat

After India's frustrating defeat in the first Test against South Africa, former captain Sourav Ganguly called out the current head coach, Gautam Gambhir, amid ongoing talks about the pitch at Eden Gardens, which has come under the scanner lately.

India were bowled out for 93 runs in their second innings while chasing the 124-run target. The defeat by 30 runs was wrapped up well inside three days. A total of 22 wickets out of 40 were taken by the spinners that offered massive turn and uneven bounce throughout the Test match. In fact, none of the teams even managed to get past the 200-run mark in any of the four innings.

Ganguly, who is also the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), advised Gambhir to forget about how the pitch would work during a Test match. This is because India would not win a Test Match if they could not score 350-400 runs. He also suggested that India need to win Test matches in five days and not three.

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"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 their 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," he said.

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Ganguly's remark came soon after Gambhir broke his silence on the controversy surrounding the Eden Gardens pitch. The legendary Indian batter urged Gambhir to reconsider Mohammed Shami for a place in the Test squad. Notably, Shami was not included for the South Africa series despite his promising performance in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.

"I am very fond of Gautam; he has done well in the 2011 and T20 World Cups. He will continue for a while, but he must play on good pitches in India. He must have faith in Bumrah, Siraj, and Shami. I think Shami deserves a place in this Test team. Shami and the spinners will win Test matches for him," he told Sports Tak.

The second and final game of the series will be played in Guwahati's Barsapara Stadium, starting November 22.