India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has been under intense scrutiny following India’s recent red-ball performances. Despite a clean sweep against Bangladesh, the Men in Blue went on to lose consecutive Test series against New Zealand at home and Australia away. Most recently, they settled for a 2-2 draw in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against an unsettled England side.
Transition Phase After Key Retirements
The criticism has largely been fueled by the sudden retirements of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, which came just before the England tour. This forced India into a transition period, handing young Shubman Gill the captaincy. Gambhir, however, has been credited for placing faith in the younger generation and guiding them through this crucial phase.
Shardul Thakur Backs Gambhir’s Leadership
Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who featured in a couple of Tests on the tour, voiced strong support for Gambhir’s approach. Thakur, who will captain West Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, highlighted Gambhir’s trademark fighting spirit as a source of motivation for the team.
“𝒀𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔, 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒔,” 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒛.
He further added that Gambhir’s past achievements as a player, including national and state-level titles, continue to inspire the current squad.
“𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒐, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎, 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏,” 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅.
Focus Turns to the Asia Cup
India’s next major assignment will be the Asia Cup 2025, scheduled to be held in the UAE this September. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is expected to finalize the squad on Tuesday, August 19, with Gambhir hoping to silence critics by leading India to continental success.
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