Team India’s Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir, attended the press-conference before departing for India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He talked on various matters and among them was the 3-0 whitewash that his team suffered in the hands of New Zealand in a Test series at home.
Gambhir praised the Kiwis and accepted that his team were outplayed in all three departments. Hence, he does not want to defend anything and accepts the criticism.
“The learning is to accept that we were outplayed. I’m not here to defend myself. We were outplayed in all three departments. We accept the criticism with both hands,“ said Gambhir at the press-conference.
India suffered their first Test series loss at home since 2012 and their dominant record in home Test series was shattered. Moreover, this was also the first time that the team suffered a home Test series whitewash since the time they started playing Test cricket. Indian fans were visibly upset and started criticising the performance of the batters who failed miserably in the series.
It was also reported that Gambhir, captain Rohit Sharma, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah and President Roger Binny had a closed-door urgent meeting to assess the shocking result at home.
Reports indicated that India might have two head coaches: one for white ball team and one for the red ball if they go on to lose the upcoming BGT very badly. Gambhir might be sacked as the red ball coach and VVS Laxman might replace him.
Gautam Gambhir also talked about India’s chances of qualifying for the WTC final
With this home series whitewash, India now have to get a 4-0 win against Australia in the BGT to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship.
Gambhir said that he and his team are not focused on the WTC final and wants to win the upcoming BGT 2024/25.
“We are not looking at the points table. We are absolutely focused on Border-Gavaskar series and win it,” said Gambhir on the race to the WTC final scenario.
India have won the last two Test series in Australia and have retained the BGT since the 2014-15 series in Australia. The series will start on November 22, with the first match scheduled to be held in Perth. Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, has not travelled with the team and might miss the first Test due to personal reasons.
