Gautam Gambhir’s ‘no pitch demons’ remark after India’s defeat at Eden Gardens has triggered strong reactions from several cricket legends, sparking a heated debate over the nature of the surface and India’s performance. (Image Credit: X/ICC)
The strong defence of the Eden Gardens pitch by India head coach Gautam Gambhir following the country's 30-run loss to South Africa has drawn criticism from several former players. Even as the Test match ended inside three days and the surface showed unpredictable, uneven behaviour, Gambhir maintained that the wicket had "no demons" a comment that did not sit well with several cricket greats.
Speaking to the media following the defeat, Gambhir ruled out the pitch factor and instead blamed lack of application by India.
“It was not an unplayable wicket, there were no demons,” he said. “This is exactly the pitch we were looking for… If you put your head down, you can score.”
The match saw Temba Bavuma top-scoring with a half-century - an indication of how demanding the surface was. The pitch started misbehaving unusually early, and its turn was sharp, bounce inconsistent and skid unpredictable. Still, Gambhir insisted that the team wanted a challenging wicket to test their skills and that was exactly what the curator had provided.
Former coach and legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble was surprised to hear Gambhir refer to the pitch in such a way. He spoke on JioHotstar about how atypical it was for Eden Gardens:
"I've been coming here since my Under-19 days, and I have never seen a pitch behave like this," said Kumble. "If the team asked for something like this, I'm confused because this is a young side."
Kumble mentioned that Eden Gardens, conventionally, hosts Tests on surfaces that last longer and offer balanced conditions, not the erratic, deteriorating strip seen over the three days.
The South African great Dale Steyn disagreed outright with Gambhir's assessment, stating that the pitch was far from normal.
“He said there weren’t demons in the pitch? I certainly saw quite a lot,” said Steyn. He described deliveries that spun two feet past the bat, balls that rose awkwardly to shoulder height, and others that skidded dangerously low.
“When batters don't have the option to score, then defence is the only key—and that tells you how tough batting was,” he added.
India's senior spinner R. Ashwin took a middle ground, neither calling the pitch a classical turner nor fully supporting Gambhir's view.
“If somebody calls this a turner, I don't agree,” he said on his YouTube channel. “It was proper preparation that went awry. It was dangerous.” Ashwin explained that Eden Gardens is not a venue for extreme spin preparation. If the curators try to force turn at this ground, the wicket becomes unpredictable rather than conducive, he said.
