"Would Have Been His Last In Tests As Coach": Gautam Gambhir Gets Ultimate Reminder

NDTV

3 days ago

While the whole of India is celebrating a young Indian cricket team's scintillating performance in England, one man who stands vindicated is Gautam Gambhir. After loss at home against New Zealand and another one against Australia at the Border Gavaskar Trophy, there were question marks on whether Gambhir was even fit to be a Test coach. However, after what the Indian team achieved in England with a team devoid of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, that noise will die down.
"The most pressure on this tour was on him. As a coach, he was not as successful in Tests. I feel people were waiting that if India lost this Test, the most criticism would be on him. People wait to make his memes on social media and talk bad about him. Maybe this would have been his last in Tests as a coach if India had lost. There was that much pressure on him. But where it is due, we must praise him wholeheartedly," Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
"We all said that Kuldeep must play in Bumrah's absence but Gambhir stuck to having batting depth. He wanted batting till number eight and his decision proved right. The two Tests we won, you look at Jadeja's and Sundar's roles there. As there was depth in batting, we could score runs and then the series ended in a draw as we could win. It was a good decision. He was there with a young team. I can understand how much pressure was on him," he added.
Meanwhile, Gambhir reminded his players of the significance of "keep getting better, working hard and improving areas", which will allow them to "dominate" Test cricket for a "very long time".
India fought with grit, valiance, and a never-surrender attitude to leave England with a 2-2 series draw in the inaugural edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. In the fifth Test at The Oval, India looked down and out on the third day, but kept pushing to rebuke the odds and predictions with a narrow six-run victory.
While addressing the players in the dressing room, Gambhir emphasised creating a culture that everyone wants to be a part of, irrespective of who stays or leaves and said in a video posted by the BCCI, "The way this series has panned out 2-2 is an outstanding result. Congratulations to everyone."
"So remember, we will keep getting better, we will keep working hard, we will keep improving our areas, because if we keep doing that, we can dominate Test Cricket for a very long time. People will come and go, but the culture of the dressing room should always be like that, people want to be part of this culture, that is what we want to create," Gambhir concluded.