“There’s no question of sacking Gautam Gambhir” - Former India captain’s huge statement after loss in IND vs SA 2025 1st Test

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly rubbished the notion of sacking head coach Gautam Gambhir amid criticism over losing the first Test to South Africa at Eden Gardens last week. Instead, Ganguly suggested that the onus lies on the players and better pitches should be prepared.

India crashed to a 30-run defeat in the opening Test in Kolkata, failing to chase a paltry target of 124 in the fourth innings. With the pitch assisting spin and generating uneven bounce from Day 1 itself, Gambhir faced backlash for backing the conditions. During the post-game presser, the former India opener said the pitch didn't have any demons and the Indian batters did not apply themselves.

Dismissing calls of sacking Gambhir as the coach, Ganguly told Sports Today:

"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 bat, 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."

There were no half-centuries from the home side during the opening Test, with KL Rahul's innings of 39 in the first dig proving to be the highest. Washington Sundar offered the most resistance for India in the second innings, facing 92 balls for his 31 before Aiden Markram dismissed him.

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"They have the bowling attack to get 20 wickets" - Sourav Ganguly on India

Sourav Ganguly is the current CAB President. (Credits: Getty)

Sourav Ganguly stated that the home side should draw inspiration from their memorable series draw in England, adding:

"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. 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."

Gautam Gambhir & Co. could well be without their regular captain Shubman Gill for the second Test, beginning on November 22 in Guwahati. In that case, Rishabh Pant is likely to take over as skipper.