(Image source from: ITG)
The opening Test match between India and South Africa clearly favored the visiting team, who achieved a win by 30 runs, leading 1-0 in the series. India was missing a player because of Shubman Gill's injury, and many believe that the condition of the Eden Gardens pitch significantly contributed to the hosts' loss. Sourav Ganguly, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), made a shocking statement about the pitch issue, explaining that the curators from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took charge of the pitch just four days before the match began. "No, no, they don’t ask me for help at all," he told India Today when questioned if his insights were requested by the Indian team management before finalizing the pitch’s condition. "The BCCI curators come and manage the wickets four days ahead of the Test match. We also have our own curator (Sujan Mukherjee) who has been doing an excellent job for many years. There are requests made, and you keep those requests in mind. That’s how it works."
Ganguly openly stated that the pitch was not the best, mentioning that the Indian team should have had a better surface to play on. "It was not the best, I must agree completely, and I believe the top and middle-order batters deserve a better cricket surface. The stands at Eden Gardens were full for all three days, and I truly think that Gautam Gambhir and his team in India should be playing on much better pitches than the one at Eden Gardens," Ganguly said. Even Sujan Mukherjee, the curator at Eden Gardens, mentioned that he merely followed the guidelines given to him by the Indian team management led by Gautam Gambhir. "Sometimes it goes beyond what we can control, and we aim to accommodate the requests of the team, the coach, and the captain. That’s what we do, so that’s the situation. And you heard Gautam Gambhir say after the match that he wanted that kind of pitch, and he was provided with exactly that. So you fulfill the captain and the coach’s requests," he added. The loss in the Kolkata Test puts Gambhir in a challenging position regarding India's record in home Tests. However, Ganguly does not think it's time to dismiss the India coach just yet. "There is no reason to remove Gautam Gambhir at this point," he said, commending both the coach and the captain for their "exceptional" performance in England.
"Gautam as a coach and Shubman as a captain performed remarkably in England on good batting surfaces, and I strongly believe they can also succeed in India," he concluded.
