Should Gautam Gambhir Be Sacked as Test Coach? Sourav Ganguly's Honest Reply

India's opening Test against South Africa turned into a setback for the hosts as the visitors clinched a 30-run win to take a 1-0 lead in the series. With Shubman Gill missing due to injury, India were already one batter short.

The Eden Gardens pitch then became the centre of debate, with many believing the surface played a major role in the defeat.

Ganguly Explains How Pitch Preparation Works

Sourav Ganguly, president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, clarified how pitch decisions are handled in India. He shared that the BCCI curators take charge well before a match and that his personal views are never involved.

"No, no, I don't get involved at all," he told India Today. He added, "Curators from the BCCI come and take over the wickets four days before the Test match. We have our own curator (Sujan Mukherjee) as well, who's done exceptionally well for a long time. The requests are made, and you keep the requests. That is what it is."

Ganguly admitted the surface was far from ideal, acknowledging that India deserved a better wicket to bat on.

"It was not the greatest, I'll have to completely admit, and I think the top-order batting, the middle-order batting, you know, deserves a better cricketing surface. It was a full house at Eden Gardens for those three days, and I completely believe that Gautam Gambhir and his team in India must play on much better wickets than what they played at Eden Gardens," he said.

Curator Says He Followed Team Instructions

Eden Gardens curator Sujan Mukherjee also stated that he worked strictly as instructed by the Gambhir-led team management.

"Sometimes it is beyond our control, and we try to keep the request of the team and the coach, and the captain. And that is what we do, so that is what it is. And you have heard Gautam Gambhir say after the game that he wanted that sort of a pitch and was given that sort of a pitch. So you keep the captain and the coach's request," he explained.

Should Gambhir Be Removed

With the Kolkata loss putting pressure on India's home record, questions have emerged over Gautam Gambhir's role as Test coach. Ganguly, however, believes there is no justification for making drastic decisions.

"There is no question of sacking Gautam Gambhir at this stage," he said, while praising the recent overseas performance. He added that both the coach and captain had proved their quality.

"Gautam as a coach and Shubman as a captain did exceptionally well in England on good batting pitches, and I firmly believe that they can do well in India as well," he concluded.