Gambhir expresses displeasure with Delhi's surface; explains why Nitish Reddy didn't bowl in 2nd Test

New Delhi [India], October 14 (ANI): India head coach Gautam Gambhir didn't mince his words while expressing his displeasure over Delhi's surface that hardly offered anything to the pace bowlers of both sides during the second Test against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. For Gambhir, the way the strip evolved over the course of five days was "alarming," as he firmly believes that to keep Test cricket alive, teams need to compete on "good" surfaces.
India and the West Indies scuffled on a green strip in Ahmedabad during the series opener that lasted barely for two and a half days. For the second fixture, the surface had patches of grass and was a true paradise for batters. Four centuries were struck, two each from the hosts and the visitors, as the contest concluded on the fifth day with a total of 1,280 runs and a seven-wicket win for India.
Gambhir wasn't pleased with the amount of bounce the pacers were able to extract from the surface. He believes that in the future, wickets should be prepared to ensure an evenly contested battle, rather than one-sided affairs, which would help keep the longest format of cricket alive.
"I thought that we could have had a better wicket here. I think for me, I'm not thinking about... Yes, we did get the result on Day 5, but again, I think the 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've got probably two quality fast bowlers in your ranks, you still want them to be in the game as well," Gambhir said while speaking to reporters after India's seven-wicket win in the second Test.
"So where we all saw, I thought the carry wasn't there, which was a bit alarming. And I think going forward, 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," he added.
During India's resounding win in the second Test, India fielded young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy in the final XI but didn't bowl a single delivery across both innings. He got the opportunity to influence the play with his belligerent stroke play in the first innings and cashed in with a swift 43 off 54 deliveries, laced with four boundaries and two maximums.
Gambhir explained the rationale behind the limited utilisation of Nitish during the Test and feels the focus shouldn't fall on the number of overs he has bowled; instead, the emphasis should be on the experience he has gained on the field.
"Look, for me, I think it's not important how many overs he's bowled. It's important that he's gaining experience, gaining experience at home as well. Sometimes you learn a lot just by playing a game of cricket as well. And it's a test match. And we don't want to use a 23-year-old boy just on tough tours away from home. That's not going to be fair on him, that we decide to play him only in overseas tour, be it Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, or England. I think when he's done well overseas, he deserves a go in home conditions as well," Gambhir said.
"And wherever we can get the opportunity to put him in Indian conditions, we'll continue to do that because it's important for us to groom someone like Nitish because you know that there are not many seen bowling all-rounders. And we've spoken for decades and decades about seam bowling all-rounders. So whenever we'll get that opportunity, we'll keep grooming him," he added. (ANI)