India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak put up a spirited defence of Head Coach Gautam Gambhir, who has come under heavy flak after the first-Test loss to South Africa, and wondered why no one was questioning batters' failures.
The 30-run defeat in Kolkata was India's fourth Test loss at home in the last one year under Gambhir's stewardship.
Addressing the media ahead of India's practice session on Thursday, the former Saurashtra batter said: "Gautam Gambhir is being criticised... I am saying this because I am a staff and I feel bad. That's not the way. In the last match wicket, Gautam said that he took all the blame on himself because he felt that he should not blame the curators."
Kotak even went to the extent of accusing the criticism of Gambhir as the "agenda of some people" and claimed the team management didn't expect the Kolkata pitch to crumble so early.
"What happened in the last match, after a day, it felt like it was crumbling," he noted in what was nearly a four-minute monologue. "There was a little bit of soil coming off that was not expected. Even if the spin was expected, it was after three days or on the third day in the evening. Sometimes the weather (plays its role). Even the curator did not want it (to play like it did). No one wanted it to be like this."
Continuing, Kotak said he was surprised people were not questioning anyone other than Gambhir.
"No one is saying that this batsman did this, this bowler did that, or we can do something different in batting," Kotak said, referring to the batting collapse in the fourth innings.
Cut-off box - Fitness test for Gill on Friday India captain Shubman Gill will undergo a fitness test on Friday the eve of the second Test batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has indicated on Thursday reports DHNS. Gill had developed neck spasm on the second day of the opening Test in Kolkata and aggravated it while batting during India's first innings on the second day. The right-hander walked off the field never to return as India remained a batter short in both innings. "See he is definitely recovering really well because I also met him yesterday" Kotak said. "Now the decision will be taken tomorrow evening because the physios and doctors have to decide whether even if he is fully recovered there's a chance of the spasm recurring during the match. That is very important." "If there is a doubt then I am sure he will rest for one more game because it won't help the team otherwise. A player like Shubman and he's the captain so any team would miss him" Kotak added. Gill hasn't trained since he left the field on the second day of the first Test and while he is making a last-ditch effort to prove his fitness his chances of playing the second Test remain slim.