Will we see Kris Srikkant take a U-turn on his retirement and feature as one of India’s spinners in the second Test against South Africa? It may sound rubbish but the former opening basher has himself stated that had he bowled on the “crappy” Eden Gardens track, even he would’ve taken wickets for India in the first Test.
India endured one of their most horrible defeats at home when South Africa gritted out a famous win in Kolkata yesterday. India failed to chase down 124 on Day 3 of the Test despite having batting till number 9. The major uproar has been circled around the Eden Gardens surface that saw variable turn and bounce from the first day itself. Srikkanth, who was part of India’s ODI World Cup win in 1983, took down India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir for asking the curator to make a pitch like it.
Even I would get a wicket: Srikkanth
Following India’s crushing loss, Gautam Gambhir defended the pitch in Kolkata and stated that batters with a great technique should’ve countered the turn. He said that was the exact pitch India wanted to play on. Srikkanth responded to Gambhir’s comment by stating that it wasn’t fit for Test cricket, as no batter, barring Temba Bavuma, managed to get runs.
“This is a horrible record at home. We are playing with full-fledged sides. Gambhir said this is the wicket we asked for but this is not the wicket you should be playing Test cricket on. The ball is turning from the first day. We are doing this for many years and not learning from the mistakes. Everything is wrong with this wicket. Even if I bowled stump to stump on this track I would get a wicket,” Srikkanth said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
It may not be deemed as unplayable by everyone but the Eden Gardens surface definitely favoured bowlers largely. Just 15.63 runs were scored for the loss of a wicket. 60 was the highest combined score for the match. Batters couldn’t hit their shots, which was evident from the first ball. The game lasted 8 sessions with a mere 594 runs scored.
Srikkanth went on to label it as a “crappy” track and said that Gambhir was talking absurd things. While Gambhir defended the nature of the pitch, the former cricketer gave a reality check that Team India is definitely under massive pressure now.
“This is a crappy track. You cannot say that you need to apply yourselves on such a crappy track. If not one team is scoring more runs how can it be a good wicket? He is talking absurd things. Everybody is struggling. Both the teams were struggling. Whether he is under pressure or not, I don’t know but India is under pressure now.”
With South Africa taking an unassailable lead of 1-0, the last Test match of the series will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, starting on November 22.
