"People have agendas': Sitanshu Kotak backs Gambhir after Kolkata Test defeat

Guwahati (Assam) [India], November 20 (ANI): India's batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, has defended head coach Gautam Gambhir, expressing disapproval of the criticism directed at him following India's defeat to South Africa in the first Test in Kolkata. Kotak believes this criticism is coming from people with their individual agendas.
India suffered a 30-run defeat in the Kolkata Test, marking their fourth home Test loss in the past year under Gautam Gambhir's coaching.
"Gautam took the blame on himself because he didn't want the curators to take the blame. Definitely, when we play in India--just like other countries play to their strengths--we rely on spin. We usually expect matches to last four to four-and-a-half days with some help for spin. Fast bowlers remain in the game on Day 1 and Day 2," Sitanshu Kotak said.
"People are only talking about Gautam Gambhir. Nobody is mentioning what the batters did or even what the batting coach could have done better. In the games we lose, it becomes all about Gambhir. Maybe some people have their individual agendas," Kotak added.
Gambhir offered a clear and collective perspective after India fell to a narrow 30-run defeat against South Africa in the first Test at Eden Gardens.
"First thing is that you lose as a team and win as a team. It's not like a single department wins a test match and a single department loses a test match. It's not like that. So if a bowler has a bat in his hand, his job is to make a run. If a batsman is asked to bowl, his job is to take a wicket. So it's not that we lose a Test match because of the batsmen. We lose because of 11 players and more than 11, because of everyone in the dressing room, we lose a test match. When we win, we win together. When we lose, we lose together, " Gambhir said after the match.
He also emphasised the need to improve India's skill and temperament on turning tracks at home.
"Yes, the important thing is whether we can improve our skill against the spin. Can we improve our temperament? If we want to play at home on such wickets, where it's not easy to play big shots but we have to get used to grafting, then we have to improve that," he noted.
India's defeat at Eden Gardens also placed the match in a statistical context, as the target of 124 became the second-lowest total India have failed to chase down in Test history.
India will face South Africa in the second and final Test in Guwahati on Saturday, seeking to bounce back from a 30-run defeat in the series opener and level the series 1-1. (ANI)