Team India’s five-game tour of England started with a tough loss on Day 5 of the first Test. Even though they seemed to be doing well and scored over 800 runs, with five players hitting centuries, India still lost. This means India has lost seven of their last nine Tests, which puts a lot of stress on head coach Gautam Gambhir, who’s been in charge during this slump.
Aakash Chopra, a former Indian cricketer, also said that Gambhir is feeling the heat. There’s tons of pressure on Gautam Gambhir. It’s really building up. If you look at how he’s done in Test cricket, he hasn’t won many games, Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
He won twice against Bangladesh and once against Australia, but he lost three times to New Zealand, three times to Australia, and once to England. He’s been losing a lot, Chopra added.
Chopra thinks Gambhir’s job as India’s Test coach could be in trouble if he loses the series against England. In Test cricket, people are going to start asking questions. There’s a lot riding on this series, Chopra mentioned.
If the England series doesn’t go well, people will wonder what’s going on. The selectors will think they’re giving the team management everything they ask for – the players they want, the number of players they want, and the specific players they ask for. So, if that’s the case, they need to get results. Bottom line. No excuses, Chopra said.
Even after the loss, India coach Gautam Gambhir is still confident that his inexperienced bowling team will come through for us, even after a tough loss to England in the first Test.
India plans to have Bumrah play in just three of the five Test matches against England to keep him fit after a back injury.
Gambhir says that’s still the plan, even though India needs to win in Birmingham to get back in the series. Reports say Bumrah will not play in the second Test.
The second Test starts on Wednesday, July 2.