Team India started their five-match tour of England with a crushing defeat in the final session on Day 5 of the opening Test. Despite racking up over 800 runs, including five individual centuries, India couldn’t avoid another loss. The result means India have now been beaten in seven of their last nine Tests, intensifying the spotlight on head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has been at the helm during this slump.
“There is a lot of pressure on Gautam Gambhir. The pressure is absolutely mounting,” said former India cricketer and analyst Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.
Gambhir’s Record Questioned
“𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔,” 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅.
He pointed out that Gambhir has led India to just two wins against Bangladesh and one against Australia, but has also overseen three losses to New Zealand, three to Australia, and one to England.
Serious Pressure Ahead of Edgbaston Clash
Chopra warned that Gambhir’s role could be in danger if the current series slips further out of India’s hands.
“If the England series doesn’t go too well, then there will be a question mark – where are they going and what are they doing?” he said, highlighting how selectors have fully backed the coach’s demands.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒚𝒑𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏,” 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒓𝒂 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅.
“So, if that is the case, you need to deliver the results. Period. There are no excuses,” he added bluntly.
Meanwhile, Gambhir remains optimistic that India’s inexperienced bowling group can still “deliver for us”, even after a tough outing in the first Test at Headingley.
India have stuck to their plan of playing Jasprit Bumrah in only three Tests of the five-match series to protect his fitness after a long injury layoff. According to reports, Bumrah is set to miss the second Test at Edgbaston, which begins Wednesday, July 2.
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