Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Nov 19: Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has come down heavily on experts who have been criticising the Eden Gardens pitch following India’s three-day defeat to South Africa in the ongoing home Test series. India, led by Shubman Gill, faltered while chasing a modest target of 124, slipping into a must-win situation to keep the series alive against the World Test Championship holders.
Taking a sharp dig at former England captain Michael Vaughan—who labelled the Kolkata surface “awful”—Gavaskar said Indian pitches are unfairly targeted, especially when multiple wickets fall in a single day.
“Even for this Test at Eden Gardens, one of Ben Stokes’s has-beens has got vocal about the pitch simply because 15 wickets fell on day two,” Gavaskar wrote in his Sportstar column. “I have been a has-been longer than this has-been, but I can say with conviction that the pitch was tough, not impossible to bat on.”
Gavaskar praised South Africa’s Temba Bavuma for displaying classic Test-match discipline on the turning track. “His short back-lift, soft hands, and controlled bat speed ensured that even edges didn’t carry. He showed patience and temperament even when the ball beat the bat,” he noted, adding that Bavuma’s approach was true Test cricket, unlike modern batters who struggle the moment a pitch offers assistance to bowlers.
The former India captain also highlighted that such conditions are not unique to India, pointing to recent tours where foreign pitches produced far more wickets in a day without attracting similar backlash. He listed examples from Australia’s Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, and England’s Leeds, Birmingham, and The Oval—where 11 to 17 wickets fell in a single day.
“Did the has-been have anything to say about those pitches? Absolutely not,” Gavaskar wrote, accusing critics of selectively targeting sub-continental conditions. He further pointed out that Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also witness high-wicket days, yet rarely face the same scrutiny.
Calling the criticism “predictable”, Gavaskar said blaming Indian pitches has become a routine narrative, overshadowing the realities of Test cricket and undermining the spirit in which the format should be appreciated.