Gambhir praises lively SCG pitch, says seniors must move Indian cricket forward
SYDNEY: The SCG pitch finds itself in the eye of a storm after a recent relay altered its usually benign nature, but it has a fan in India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, who feels such surfaces are important since they challenge batters, bring the bowlers into play and induce results.
“It’s been some really nice wickets (overall in the series),” Gambhir said, “It’s good for Test cricket. There was enough for the bowlers, enough for batters as well. This is how Test cricket needs to be played, (on) result-oriented wickets. We talk a lot about turning pitches back home. This was as spicy as what we get back home,” Gambhir said.

Gambhir’s stance was in stark contrast to that of former captain Sunil Gavaskar, who said the conditions were “not ideal”. “When I saw the pitch, I did say the cows could have gone and grazed on it,” Gavaskar said on ABC Radio. “This is not the pitch you want because you want it to go to the fourth or fifth day. Former players who’ve played here were so surprised. If 15 wickets fell a day in India, there would be hell.”
Gambhir, however, said, “Everything boils down to the temperament, how much you want to play out those tough moments. Test cricket is all about playing out the sessions, seeing off a (good) spell. That’s one issue we need to look at, how we can convert those 40s into big hundreds and set the game for our bowlers.”
‘Kohli, Rohit future up to them’
Asked about the roadmap for Tests ahead of the England series in July and the fate of struggling senior batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Gambhir said, “I can’t talk about the future of any player. It’s up to them as well. They still have the hunger and passion. Hopefully they can continue to take Indian cricket forward. But ultimately, we all know, whatever they plan, they’ll plan in the best interests of Indian cricket. It’s about whether the team is moving forward with your contribution, or not. There are very honest players in that dressing room.”
Gambhir refused to clarify if the England tour would see wholesale changes in the squad. “It’s not the right time. A lot of things change in sport. Form, people, attitude, everything changes. Five months is a long time,” he said.
‘Need to be fair to everyone’
On a related note, Gambhir also said he would not be doing justice to his role as head coach if he favoured certain reputations over others. “My biggest responsibility is that I have to be fair to everyone in the room. If I’m fair to only two or three individuals, I’m being dishonest in my job. Whether a player hasn’t made his debut yet, or whether he has played 100 Tests, I have to be equal to everyone.”
‘Not the results we’ve been expecting’
Gambhir has had a rocky start to his international coaching career, with India having lost six out of 10 Tests under him, including the 0-3 series whitewash at home to New Zealand and now the three defeats in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here.
“It’s been tough and obviously not the results we’ve been expecting,” he said, “All I can expect from that dressing room is to keep fighting, stay honest, but ultimately it’s a result-oriented sport.”
‘Give importance to domestic cricket’
Gambhir also welcomed suggestions that India’s Test batters should play on the domestic first-class circuit, saying, “I’d like everyone to play domestic cricket. If you don’t give importance to domestic cricket, you’ll never get the desired players at the Test level.”