Team India has had a bad start to the English tour after losing the first Test at Headingley. With the sights firmly set at the World Test Championship, this is not a great start as well.
The Indian coach Gambhir supported the bowlers following their lackluster performance, backed the lower-order that could not capitalize on the foundation laid by the top five, and emphasized that the team succeeded in achieving substantial scores in both innings.
It will be hard to digest since India were defeated 3-0 by New Zealand and lost a series in Australia not long ago. Though the series is challenging, India had their moments considering England’s issues with their bowling lineup and the injuries they are facing. Now India needs to address the Test match issues quite quickly.
Coach Gautam Gambhir is the man who almost had the answer to everything after Headingley loss but deep inside he also knows that his role is the most closely inspected after continuous losses in Test matches.
Even though it’s only one game that has concluded, there are definitely some concerning issues with the team that must be addressed.
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Gambhir on Lackluster Bowling
The bowlers’ failure to protect 371 and their inability to secure 20 wickets in five of their last six away Tests was consistently highlighted to him. Gambhir defended them quite resolutely.
“These are the initial stages. If we begin evaluating our bowlers after every Test, how can we cultivate a bowling lineup? Except for Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj, our experience level is quite limited,” he noted.
He also backed Prasidh, whose match statistics were 35-0-220-5, marking the poorest economy rate for an Indian bowler who has bowled a minimum of 20 overs.
What he said about Sloppy Fielding?
India performed very poorly in the field. They missed up to seven catches during the match, with five occurring in England’s first innings.
This marks their poorest fielding display since 2019. Yashasvi Jaiswal missed the highest number of catches in this match. At one moment, it seemed as if the ball was intentionally heading toward Jaiswal because it was aware he would mishandle it.
Even Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan, and Ravindra Jadeja, among others, were responsible for dropping catches. Each of them dropped one catch, while Jaiswal missed four, three of which were from Bumrah’s deliveries.
Speaking to media over fielding following the defeat, Gautam Gambhir stated that he would refrain from criticizing anyone for the errors made on the field. Much criticism was aimed at Yashasvi Jaiswal, the young opener who scored a century in the first innings but dropped four catches while fielding.
Needs to take the blame
However, this could not be the obvious answer to the criticism around fielding- the fielding was certainly way below par.
As the Head Coach, Gambhir significantly influences the team selection and tactics employed since he serves as the coach. This indicates that he is certainly accountable for the team’s poor showing lately.
The coach has a significant influence on nearly every aspect, from selecting the playing XI to forming bowling combinations.
Yet, this is not the same Gambhir that audiences observed during his commentary days, as he would hold nothing back when critiquing anyone, from the coach to the captain, if India underperformed. So if India performs this badly in Tests, questions will certainly be asked.
