Gavaskar on Eden Pitch Row: Blame India's Batting, Not the Wicket for South Africa Test Defeat.

India Today

On this special report, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar weighs in on the controversy surrounding the Eden Gardens pitch after India's Test match loss to South Africa. Gavaskar defends the wicket, aligning with Indian Head Coach Gautam Gambhir, and argues that the focus should be on the Indian team's batting performance rather than the pitch conditions, highlighting South African captain Temba Bavuma's resilient innings as an example to follow. When asked about the pitch, Gavaskar stated, 'I don't think it was a pitch where you get all out for 90 runs like the Indian team did.' He firmly places the responsibility on the batters' temperament and technique, suggesting they failed to apply themselves correctly during the chase.

Transcript

00:01Let's go to the great legend Sunil Gavaskar himself

00:03to get his view on the pitch controversy.

00:06Mr. Gavaskar, appreciate you joining us.

00:08Now, weighing in on the Eden pitch controversy,

00:10Indian coach Gautam Gambhir claimed there were no demons in the pitch,

00:14even as the likes of Saurabh Ganguly are already raising questions

00:17over the quality of the pitch.

00:18Was it? What is your view?

00:20Do you agree this pitch was unfit for Test cricket?

00:25No, I totally agree with what the Indian coach has said.

00:30Because there were no demons in the pitch.

00:32Yes, the oddball was going to turn on day three.

00:35I don't think it was a pitch where you get all out for 90 runs

00:40like the Indian team did.

00:42124 was getable.

00:45And getable with, you know, at least five equals an hour.

00:51But, sir, you are saying that this pitch was not unfit.

00:54But the truth of the matter is, sir, right from day one,

00:57we saw uneven bounce.

00:59The Pacers benefited from it.

01:01There was sharp turn.

01:02Puffs of dust were coming out from the pitch.

01:05It started crumbling from day one.

01:07How can we say that this was a good cricket wicket

01:09or a wicket fit for a five-day Test match?

01:12No, it didn't start to crumble from day one.

01:18Not at all.

01:19You know, on Indian pitches, you are likely to get a little puff of dust coming.

01:26But, no, it wasn't a pitch which was crumbling from day one.

01:30Not at all.

01:30So, I don't think it is something where you could say it was a bad pitch.

01:39It was just that the Indians didn't learn anything from what Temba Bhavuma did.

01:44Temba Bhavuma showed you.

01:46Somebody who plays on bouncy pitches back home, that good technique, good temperament,

01:52throwing a lot of patience, playing with soft hands, not looking to jab at the ball,

01:58is something which can help you to score runs.

02:01And what did India need?

02:03India needed one batter to bat like Temba Bhavuma and score 55, knockout,

02:09and they would have got to 124 without a problem.

02:12So, it's interesting what you're saying.

02:14You're saying it's not so much about the quality of the pitch, but the quality of batting.

02:18Because, let's be honest also, Mr. Gavaskar,

02:21this is the same team which was routinely scoring 400, 500 runs in every match in England just a few months ago.

02:27So, they are not a bad batting team, surely?

02:31Yes.

02:32Yes, there is an issue when the ball is doing just a little bit.

02:37The pitches in England were pretty, what you would call, flat pitches.

02:42Now, if you want to play test cricket on flat pitches, fine.

02:46But if you want to play cricket where there is a little challenge,

02:49that it's not shut for the bowlers completely,

02:53that the bowlers also get a little bit of help,

02:56then you want to play on a pitch where there might be a little bit of grass,

02:59or there might be a little bit of, which will help seam movement,

03:02or there might be just a little area where the spinners can come into play.

03:08And that is what will make test cricket far more interesting.

03:12But, sir, with due regard, the match ends up in three days.

03:16Now, we have ended up losing in India four test matches in a row against the top countries,

03:21which has not happened before.

03:23Something is seriously wrong, sir.

03:25Either the other countries are adjusting faster to such wickets,

03:28or as you said, our batsmen need to play spin better.

03:31Surely, we would have been better off playing on a good cricket wicket that lasts five days,

03:35rather than a wicket that reduces batting to a bit of a lottery.

03:39Whoever wins the toss gets a huge advantage, sir.

03:41No, no, no.

03:44This one was not a lottery.

03:46I don't think we should be using all those terms like this was a lottery and all that,

03:49because this wasn't a bad pitch.

03:51There were no demons in the pitch.

03:53I totally agree with the Indian coach.

03:55The Indian batters in both the innings did not show the resolve to try and stick around there.

04:04Look, you've got to keep your ego in the change room.

04:07You cannot also be mentally into a space where somebody tells you,

04:12this pitch is doing this, so you better go and smash the ball around.

04:15No.

04:16Temba Bhavuma showed you how you should bat.

04:19And that is what, and I can understand, sometimes, you know, team meetings are held the previous day,

04:25and you forget the next morning.

04:28But here, just an hour or two earlier, the South African captain has given you an exhibition of batting,

04:33how to bat on a pitch where there was just a little bit of turn.

04:37You saw Simon Hammer.

04:38How many deliveries did he turn?

04:40You saw Keshav Maharaj.

04:41How many deliveries did he turn?

04:43He didn't.

04:44The odd ball, yes.

04:45On day three, you are going to get the odd ball, which is going to turn.

04:49But the point is that the Indian batters, did they show the requisite temperament?

04:55I'm not even talking about technique.

04:57You saw Yashashvi Jaiswal start in the second innings.

05:00Did you see the first three balls, the kind of shots that he attempted?

05:04Three balls, first over.

05:07This is what you play.

05:08Eventually, he got out to a very good delivery.

05:10That's another matter.

05:12But this is it.

05:13So, temperamentally, you are told,

05:14while the new ball is there,

05:16but that is not what test cricket is.

05:21Test cricket, you can leave deliveries alone.

05:23You can wait for the scorable day.

05:26You can look for ones and twos.

05:27How many times are you looking for ones and twos?

05:30You can't be looking all the time for boundaries and sixes.

05:32No, if you're saying there's a problem with temperament as much as technique,

05:38should we be making wholesale changes?

05:41Is this the IPL effect, which has meant whole temperament technique,

05:44the idea of batting time no longer exists?

05:47Should we make wholesale changes in the team?

05:48Well, you can't make wholesale changes because that does not send a good signal.

05:55But if you want to look at the temperament of some of the guys

06:00and you want to then go by that,

06:02do you think that person has got the temperament as well as the technique?

06:06If the person doesn't have the temperament or technique,

06:08and I'm not saying Jaiswal doesn't have it,

06:10maybe he didn't get it right in one game.

06:12He's a very, very talented cricketer.

06:14But his approach was, you know, in the second innings,

06:18was the first three deliveries were a little bit hard to understand.

06:21They were, you know, but I think what you really need

06:24is to look at the temperament and the technique

06:26that the others have or did not have.

06:29And therefore, you want to make your decisions on that.

06:32But, you know, with a test match with just a two or three day gap,

06:36you're not going to be able to make those changes.

06:38None of the international, India international players,

06:42played domestic cricket.

06:43But domestic cricket is where you get pitches

06:45where the ball will grip and turn a little bit

06:47because teams are trying to get points

06:49so that they qualify for the knockouts.

06:51And so you look at the domestic scorers,

06:54look at the heavy domestic scorers,

06:55and then pick them for test matches

06:57because they are used to playing on pitches like this.

07:00Pick them for test matches in India

07:01because they are used to playing on these kind of pitches.

07:04Pick them.

07:05But you don't pick them

07:06because you've already got an international side going.

07:09That is the thing.

07:10You know, you're making a very good point.

07:13Pick players based on their domestic form.

07:15Maybe for the next two or three days,

07:17these players should watch your great innings

07:19in your final test against Pakistan 1987.

07:22They can learn how to play with soft hands.

07:24The way to play on a sore is sharply turning pitch,

07:27Mr. Gavaskar.

07:28No, I think they have to just look at what Temba Bhavuma did.

07:34Temba Bhavuma showed how to play on a pitch

07:37where there was something.

07:39Even our bowlers, Jadeja, Akshar, did not turn every ball.

07:44The odd ball was turning.

07:46That's it.

07:47Kuldeep, yes, being a wrist spinner,

07:48can turn the ball on glass.

07:49Wrist spinners turn the ball on glass.

07:51They don't need any assistance from the pitch.

07:53But how many of Jadeja's deliveries

07:55and Akshar Patel deliveries kicked and bounced?

07:58Not many.

07:59Yes, the odd one did.

08:01They're very good spinners.

08:01That's why.

08:03But that is why I'm saying, you know,

08:04when we're talking about the pitch, pitch, pitch,

08:06I think you should be actually talking about

08:08the batting, batting, batting,

08:09rather than the pitch.

08:11Okay, you've given us a one-liner.

08:13Don't talk about pitch, pitch, pitch.

08:14Talk about batting, batting, batting.

08:16Sunil Gavaskar,

08:17we may agree to disagree on this point,

08:19but thank you very much

08:20for joining me here on the news today.

08:23I was...

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