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India head coach was unhappy with the pitch produced for the second Test of the series against West Indies at his homeground, Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Gambhir slammed the pitch curator for preparing a wicket which lacked pace and bounce, not even bare minimum assistance for fast bowlers.
"I thought that we could have had a better wicket here," Gambhir said in his post-match press conference. "Yes, we did get the result on day five, but again, I think nicks need to carry. I think there has to be something for the fast bowlers as well. I know we keep talking about spinners playing an important role, but when you have got probably two quality fast bowlers in your ranks, we still want them to be in the game as well.”
The next time India play a Test in Delhi, Gambhir wants a better pitch. Had it not been for an out-of-form West Indies, the Test could have ended in a draw, resulting in loss of crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points for India. The former India opener feels that it is everyone’s responsibility to keep Test cricket alive.
"And it is okay if there is not enough [turn], but there has to be carry. So where we all saw [that] carry wasn't there, [it] was a bit alarming, and I think going forward, [I hope] we can get better wickets in Test cricket, because all of us have the responsibility of keeping Test cricket alive. I think the first and foremost thing to keep Test cricket alive is playing on good surfaces."
Gambhir wants West Indies cricket to flourish
After getting bowled out for 248 in the first innings, John Campbell and Shai Hope’s third-wicket partnership prevented West Indies from suffering a defeat by an innings. Their centuries, followed by Justin Greave’s unbeaten fifty and no.11 batter Jayden Seales’ 32 helped West Indies set a target of 121 for hosts.
Gambhir was pleased to see West Indies batters doing well in their second innings. He wants West Indies cricket to do well for the better of world cricket.
"I have always believed that world cricket needs West Indian cricket," Gambhir said. "That is something which is very important. It was very nice to see them fight. And obviously, they are an inexperienced team and there are a lot of changes that have happened there, but the way they fought in the second innings will give them a lot of confidence."
After the Test series win against Roston Chase’s West Indies, India will head to limited-overs tour of Australia.
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