'No matter who you are...': Ex-India captain blasts Gautam Gambhir for Kolkata pitch fiasco

Former India captain Kris Srikkanth feels that rather than continuously "blaming " the players, Gautam Gambhir should accept that the pitch in Kolkata was not ideal to bat on. This comes after the India head coach had said that there were no demons on the pitch and remarked that the batters could have showed better technique.

Srikkanth wasn't in agreement with these comments and remarked that even though many batters tried to defend, the pitch had made it almost impossible for them to stick on the crease for a long time and they eventually lost their wickets.He further pointed out that except for Temba Bavuma, none of the batters were able to survive for long on the bowler-friendly track.

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"The point I don't understand is, Gambhir said there are no demons and you should show better technique. How can you play on this kind of a wicket? So many batters tried to defend and got out at slip, or lbw," Srikkanth said, speaking on his YouTube channel.

"Why do you want to keep on persisting on these kinds of bad wickets and then blame the technique of the players? That is not right. No matter who you are, how can you survive on this wicket? (Temba) Bavuma did but that was just one player out of all," he added.

Srikkanth on India's "horrible" Test record

Srikkanth also went on to highlight India's poor Test record at home under Gambhir's guidance. The Men in Blue have now lost four out their last six Tests on home soil and are in dire need of improving their form, otherwise it will end up leading to another disappointing World Test Championship (WTC) campaign. Srikkanth labelled the side's recent home record as "horrible" and added that they need to learn from their mistakes.

"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 stated.

India hoping to level up the series

Meanwhile, India will be looking to come back stronger in the second and final match of the Test series against South Africa. It will commence from November 22 at the Barsapara stadium in Guwahati. It will be essential for the Men in Blue to win the upcoming encounter in order to avoid a series loss.