New Delhi: India’s Test series loss to New Zealand will give head coach Gautam Gambhir a lot to ponder about and he will learn from it, says former coach and captain Ravi Shastri.
India went down in the first two Tests in Bengaluru and Pune of the three-match series, losing for the first time at home since 2012-13, ending a run of 18 consecutive series victories.
Gambhir took over from Rahul Dravid after the T20 World Cup in June and helped the team win against Bangladesh but was powerless and New Zealand dominated India to win the series.
The former India top-order batter has received a lot of criticism for the team’s inexplicable batting collapses as an aggressive approach failed to produce the desired results.
But Shastri, who was in the hot seat before Dravid, backed Gambhir to deliver, despite the blip against New Zealand.
“New Zealand have beaten them (India) handsomely in both the Test matches. It’s food for thought (on series loss). He (Gambhir) has just taken over the job,” Shastri said while working as a commentary during the second Test in Pune.
“It’s never easy being coach of a team that has such a big following. It’s still early days in his career as a coach. But he’ll soon learn.”
Under pressure
Shastri said that Gambhir was at the helm only for a few months, so it isn’t wise to come to conclusions on him so early in his tenure.
Gambhir had taken over from Dravid after guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to victory in IPL 2024, after which BCCI considered him for the top job.
The former left hander batter will now be under pressure to prevent a whitewash in the third Test in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium from November 1.
