Gautam Gambhir's Tenure As Head Coach Receives Blunt Verdict: "Not Great But..."
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Gautam Gambhir had a worrying start as head coach in Test cricket before adding that despite the poor results, it is important to remember that the team is currently in transition.
- Gautam Gambhir has coached India in 15 Tests with five wins, eight losses, and two draws
- Gambhir's record was called 'not great' by Aakash Chopra before admitting that the team is in transition
- "Win percentage is 33.33, which is not great. However, it's true that India are going through a transition"
Former Indian cricket team batter Aakash Chopra pointed out that Gautam Gambhir had a worrying start as head coach in Test cricket before adding that despite the poor results, it is important to remember that the team is currently in transition. India have won just five out of 15 Tests under Gambhir's coaching but their performance in the series against England left a lot of people impressed. It was a crucial result for the team that suffered Test series losses against New Zealand at home and Australia away. Chopra highlighted the importance of the upcoming Bangladesh series on Gambhir's future.
"Gautam Gambhir has been the coach in 15 Tests, of which India have won five, lost eight, and two have been drawn. The win percentage is 33.33, which is not great. However, it's also true that India are going through a transition in Test cricket, and transition is painful," Chopra said on YouTube.
"India have struggled a little in Test cricket. What happened against New Zealand was slightly surprising and worrying. That was definitely bad. In that backdrop, you went to Australia, and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's Test careers ended there. They didn't retire there, but they didn't play Test matches after that," he added.
The Indian cricket team showed a lot of character by staging a tremendous comeback to level the series 2-2 against England. Chopra admitted that the transition phase will take some time for the Shubman Gill-led side and said that although the start was not good, things are looking up for Gambhir and Co.
"The transition is not yet fully completed. A young gun team has been prepared which went and drew the series in England. A new captain scored 750 runs at No. 4, KL Rahul got established as an opener, and things are looking up one more time. The start wasn't good. Not qualifying for the Test Championship was a serious blow, but things have started looking up now," he said.
India Cricket Team
Gautam Gambhir