1983 World Cup winner Balwinder Singh Sandhu has launched a brutal attack on the Gautam Gambhir-led India coaching staff following the Eden Gardens Test disaster.
Balwinder Singh Sandhu said that the Indian coaching staff has failed to make any contribution to the team and is more focused on securing their position.
Morne Morkel cannot teach anything new to Indian spinners – Balwinder Singh Sandhu
Team India had to face defeat by 30 runs in the first match of the Test series against Team South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The pitch prepared for the match was very bad and it was helping the bowlers a lot.
From day one, the spinners received excessive turn and the fast bowlers were unable to play most of the time due to uneven bounce on the pitch.
Both India and South Africa batsmen looked poor in the match and Temba Bavuma was the only player who managed to cross the 50-run mark.
Meanwhile, Balwinder Singh Sandhu hit out at India after the defeat, saying their strategy was weak and questioning Morne Morkel’s contribution.
Balwinder Singh Sandhu, in his column for Mid-Day, wrote, “India’s overall strategy was weak. On such a pitch, one end must be held down by a defensive bowler, and the other must attack in short, sharp bursts – Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Jadeja. That’s how you build pressure. As for our support staff – well, Morne Morkel can’t teach the Indian spinners anything new.”
It goes to Gautam Gambhir’s credit that he accepted the responsibility – Balwinder Singh Sandhu.
The 1983 World Cup winner said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) needs to be very careful while appointing coaches in the Indian team.
He said, “The less said about the batting coach, the better. The BCCI should take the responsibility of appointing support staff who are more interested in protecting their positions rather than actually contributing.”
Sandhu praised head coach Gautam Gambhir for admitting that he had asked for the pitch and supported Sourav Ganguly’s call for Mohammed Shami’s return to the Test team. He said:
“To Gautam Gambhir’s credit, he accepted responsibility for Turner rather than blaming the pitch – politically correct, perhaps not entirely accurate. CAB president Sourav Ganguly acted quickly to protect the pitch from criticism and also highlighted Mohammed Shami’s case. And I completely agree. Shami deserves a proper send-off, and has proven his fitness through domestic cricket.”
Then the biggest mistake happened – playing four spinners – Balwinder Singh Sandhu
Balwinder Singh Sandhu also criticized Gautam Gambhir and Sitanshu Kotak for their inability to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Team India and reminded everyone of the historic humiliation that the Kiwis gave to the Indian team last year.
“New Zealand beat us on our own ground some time ago. Yet we repeat the same mistakes. This clearly shows a poor understanding of the abilities of our current players. For a head coach and a batting coach, this is unacceptable. Being a coach, I think any coach who has been there for years should know the strengths, weaknesses and mentality of his team from the inside. We still don’t know who is ready to replace Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, I think. He was dropped very early. “The young players should be groomed around the seniors, not at their expense,” Sandhu wrote.
“What followed was the biggest mistake of all – playing four spinners when the opposition had only two. This showed complete confusion as to who actually was the main attacking spinner. And ironically, the fast bowlers on both sides took important wickets. Even the batting order showed a lack of understanding of the game.”
Also read: Indian coach reveals big ‘anti-Gautam Gambhir agenda’ after Kolkata Test crisis
