NEW DELHI: Head coach Gautam Gambhir has had to face a lot of criticism after Team India’s historic 0-3 Test series defeat against New Zealand.
Team India’s next assignment is a four-match T20I series in South Africa from November 8, but the Suryakumar Yadav-led side will have VVS Laxman as head coach.
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Gambhir will be headed to the tough tour of Australia where India play a five-Test series starting in Perth from November 22.
Though India won the last two Test series in Australia, the shock loss against the Kiwis have been far from ideal preparation for Rohit Sharma and his men.
Add to that, Rohit Sharma will reportedly miss the first Test in Perth due to personal reasons.
With India now needing to win four out of the five Tests in Australia to directly qualify for the World Test Championship final, the pressure is all the more on Gambhir & Co.
Former Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, who is known for not mincing words while expressing his views, said that India will be facing a very tough time in Australia.
Talking to India Today, Gavaskar said, “Gautam Gambhir will have to guide the players in Australia properly as the team will face a very tough time there.”
With a smile on his face, Gavaskar also took a sly dig at Team India’s support staff adding, “Gautam Gambhir has made more runs than both Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate in Test cricket, so only Gautam Gambhir will have to tell the players about how to bat in Australia and what should be the batting approach, maybe then we come up with a good performance.”
During his career, Gambhir played 4 Tests in Australia scoring 181 runs at an average of 22.62 and a highest score of 83.