2 weeks Ago By Faham Uddin
India coach Gautam Gambhir found himself in hot soup after the team suffered a series defeat to New Zealand, their first at home since 2012. India were hot favourites to win the series but were completely outplayed. Criticism was bound to come Gambhir's way given how comprehensively India lost the series to New Zealand.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri came out in support of Gambhir following the defeat in the second Test. Shastri said it's never easy being a coach of a team with a massive fan following, adding that Gambhir is a new coach and will learn with time. "New Zealand have beaten them (India) handsomely in both the Test matches.
It's food for thought," Stastri said on Jio Cinema. "He (Gambhir) has just taken over the job. 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," he added. Gautam Gambhir pulled off a masterstroke in the second Test, but he couldn't get credit for the same as India suffered a defeat.
Had India won, Gambhir would have received heavy praise for his move. It was Gambhir who pushed for Washington Sundar's inclusion in the India squad. Sundar made a return to the side in the second Test and delivered a stunning show, taking a 10-fer.
However, the batters failed to resist against the Kiwi spinners, especially Mitchell Santner, and India suffered a 113-run defeat. Meanwhile, the road ahead will not be easy for Gambhir as he has a tough Australia tour lined up. The tour is vital as it will decide India's fate in the WTC.
India need to win at least three Tests to have some hopes of reaching the WTC final. On current form, not many are backing India to win the series in Australia. If the Australia tour didn't go India's way, Gambhir and Rohit Sharma will be subjected to more criticism.
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