Boria Majumdar in London
Gautam Gambhir’s stint as India’s red-ball coach has not been easy. Losing 3-0 against New Zealand at home, and then a 3-1 series loss against Australia down under meant he was under immense pressure coming to England. The retirement of senior players led to him mentoring a young team to the UK, and many had written them off at the start of the series. In fact, contrary to expectations, the team has shown serious fight. They could have won in Leeds and at Lord’s, and could well have been leading the series 2-1 coming to The Oval. All of this makes this Test match a hugely significant one for Gambhir.
May I say that the India coaching job is all about man management. It is about protecting the players in times of adversity, and Gautam has ticked that box in England. That he backed Washington Sundar all through speaks of his spunk, and as the head coach, he has never shied away from a challenge.
Backing Washington against all odds sums up his cricketing philosophy. Take the call, good or bad. Own your decisions and be clear about it. They could be right or wrong. But Gautam will never be in doubt. It is this decisiveness that made him a good mentor for KKR. Also, as Shubman Gill said, it was Gautam who pushed the skipper to bat at No. 4, and the success of that decision is more than evident.
Just about a month ago, many of us said that as far as the national team was concerned, the one thing that was often lacking in crunch moments was decisiveness. We had been timid and that cost us key matches. But now, things are different. Promoting Washington in Manchester, for example, was a decisive call. The one thing about this campaign has been India’s ability to come back from situations of adversity. In Manchester, it was all but over. That’s when the team held its nerve, and the rest is history.
Does the spat with the curator make it more difficult for Gambhir at The Oval? Nothing but a win will suffice, and he knows it well.
The truth is that he has left a reasonably successful political career for cricket, and a very successful IPL mentoring stint for the India job. With a young family, the call would not have been easy. But then, when has sport ever been easy? It is always a quest. A quest for excellence. To break barriers and create something new. A template that can serve Indian cricket well going forward. Help groom Gill, and empower him as a leader. Make Washington the best version of himself who can serve India well in the years to come. And with Gambhir, we will always see feistiness and the ride will be exciting.
For now, it is all about The Oval. A win here and the negativity of the last nine months will be history. This England tour could define Gambhir as India’s red-ball coach and help give the team an identity it very badly needs. The stakes are at their highest, and that’s what makes this Test match an absolute must-watch.
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Here’s something on the likely India XI for the Oval game