India have lost four of their last six home Tests under Gambhir's coaching.
Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has dismissed calls to remove Gautam Gambhir as India’s head coach after the Kolkata Test defeat against South Africa.
Instead, Ganguly reckons pitches, patience and clearer planning are the real factors as India look to correct recurring Test-match flaws.
The hosts lost the game by 30 runs inside three days, failing to chase 124 on a crumbling Eden Gardens surface. This was India’s fourth loss in last six home Tests, stretching back to the 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand. They are now facing a must-win situation in Guwahati Test to avoid another series loss at home.
The result has sparked criticism over India’s preparation and approach, but Ganguly doesn’t agree with the chatter of Gambhir’s sacking.
“No, no, there's no question of sacking out of Gautam Gambhir at this stage, but I think as a team, they need to get together and say to themselves that we will work hard to win Test matches because on flat pitches, it's a lot harder because the opposition will pad, there'll be big runs scored on the first innings of each team. And in India, surprisingly, you'll see how the game changes quickly on day four, day five,” Ganguly told India Today.
“So they have to be patient on that. As I said, they have the bowling attack to get 20 wickets as you saw at the Oval on the last day, as you saw in Edgbaston during that series (vs England), so they can do that as well. Swing comes into play in India with the ball getting old. So it's just a mindset change,” he added.
Ganguly expressed his belief in Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill, highlighting their recent success in England.
“And you know, Gautam as a coach and Shubman as a captain did exceptionally well in England on good batting pitches. And I firmly believe that they can do well in India as well,” he remarked.
India will have some time to regroup and reassess their plans before facing South Africa in the second Test in Guwahati’s Barsapara Cricket Stadium from November 22.