Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar backs Gautam Gambhir amid the Eden Gardens pitch controversy and shares a strong reaction to India’s defeat.

A discussion has emerged around the pitch at Eden Gardens. The controversy grew stronger after Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir admitted that the team did want a turning wicket. While many criticised the move, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar backed the decision, even stating that the surface is not a excessive or dangerous turner.

“So, it was not a vicious turning pitch. It was a pitch on which you needed to bat as if you were playing a five-day Test, not a 50-over match or a Twenty20 where, after three dot balls, you try to play a break-out-of-jail shot. That’s the issue. One hundred and twenty-four should have been chased with at least five wickets in hand with the kind of batting line-up India had,” Gavaskar said to India Today.

“A lot of people are talking about what the pitch was doing, but if you had a look at what Simon Harmer was doing in an over, how many of his deliveries were turning? He was mixing it up really well. He bowled straight and got the odd one to turn,” he added. South African spinner Harmer picked up eight wickets in the game.

Gautam Gambhir speaking about the grounds in Kolkata, “It was not an unplayable wicket. This (pitch) is exactly what we asked for and this is what we got, the curator (Sujan Mukherjee) here was very supportive. I think it’s a wicket that can judge your mental toughness, as ones who played with good defence scored runs.”

“This is exactly the pitch we were looking for. There were no demons or not unplayable. Axar, Temba, Washington made runs. If you say this is a turning wicket, majority wickets were taken by seamers, We ask for the pitch to aid spinners from day one so that toss doesn’t become crucial. Had we won the Test you wouldn’t be asking or discussing so much about pitch. We’ve got the guys to deliver in any condition,” he added.