Indian cricket team coach Gautam Gambhir addresses a press conference ahead of their third Test cricket match against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai.
Credit: PTI Photo
Pune: Gautam Gambhir admitted on Thursday that he didn’t expect his India coaching stint to be easy, but he surely couldn’t have expected it to be this bad.
In his second assignment after taking over from Rahul Dravid, India lost a One-Day International series in Sri Lanka for the first time since 1997. Now, in his third Test assignment, Gambhir has overseen his wards losing the three-match series against New Zealand 2-0. Worse yet, the team could be staring at a sweep at home for only the second time in history.
“I never expected a very easy run for me because international cricket is never easy. I know that we lost in Sri Lanka, we've lost at home as well against New Zealand. It’s not a great place to be in, but all we can do is be honest with ourselves and keep working hard. When things are not going great, there are always those doubts that creep up.”
Being forthright has always been one of Gambhir’s great traits, but his admission that nothing was going as planned and everything needed tweaking wasn’t expected.
"At the moment, everything (needs ironing), because when you don't get the results, you want to iron out everything,” he said. “Also, I'm not going to say ‘the batters have let us down’ or ‘the bowlers have’ and all that stuff. It's the combination, we win together, we lose together. Everyone has a responsibility and everyone should take up that responsibility, from the coach to the entire support staff and the players.”
He also didn’t spare his words when it comes to youngsters, saying these losses should hurt them just as much as they hurt everyone else in the team.
“I'm not going to sugarcoat this. That (the loss) is hurting, but it's good that it's hurting because it should hurt. Every time you lose a game, be it at home or be it away from home, it should hurt. That hurt will make us better,” he opined. “Sometimes people say that it should not hurt but it should hurt when you're playing for your country. What's wrong with being in that position? Especially for the youngsters, it's hurting them more. I'm sure they're going to push themselves to keep getting better because that is exactly what we want them to be.”
While Gambhir has insisted that the upcoming tour of Australia is not on their minds, he admitted that winning the third Test before heading there would be ideal. “When we go to Australia we should have a win under our belt. We know that we represent 140 crore Indians so it's another opportunity because very few people get this opportunity and honour to represent the country in Test cricket so tomorrow is another opportunity,” he said.