Gautam Gambhir Fired Massive 'Indian Fans Not Patient' Warning: "Under Pressure..."
India trail England 1-2 in the five-match series heading into the series-decider which got underway at The Oval on Thursday.
- Michael Atherton feels Gautam Gambhir will be under pressure if India lose a third consecutive Test series
- India lost previous Test series 3-0 to New Zealand at home and 3-1 to Australia away
- "If they lose this series, then yeah, he's under pressure as a coach," said Atherton
Fans might lose patience if India lose another Test series under head coach Gautam Gambhir, feels former England captain Michael Atherton. India trail England 1-2 in the five-match series heading into the series-decider which got underway at The Oval on Thursday. Atherton pointed out how India's recent Test record might not work in Gambhir's favour if they lose to England as well. He suggested that Gambhir will come under immense pressure, having already lost series' against New Zealand (home) and Australia (away) recently.
"Well, they've lost two series in a row. They lost at home to New Zealand 3-0, and they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1. If they lose this series, then yeah, he's under pressure as a coach," Atherton said on Sky Sports.
"India, with all their resources, their population strength, they're not a team that people are patient with. They're expected to win every time they walk onto the park. So three Test series defeats in a row would be a problem for him," he added.
Ahead of the Oval Test, Gambhir gave a fiery team talk to his players in a video shared by the BCCI.
"Guys, all I want to say is, there are two ways of looking at this tour," Gambhir said passionately.
"One is that we are without our three most experienced players, or we've got this phenomenal opportunity to do something special for the country, because there is no bigger honour," he added.
India made four changes to their side after being put into bat by England in the series-decider.
Dhruv Jurel, Karun Nair, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna were all included, replacing Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj.
"Don't mind losing the toss as long as we win the game. Was a bit confused yesterday about what to do, was a bit overcast but the wicket looks good, we'll look to post good runs in the first innings. Should be a good pitch for the bowlers. We look to win every game. We have come close in every game and it is about the extra five or 10 per cent, so boys will be giving it their all," said India captain Shubman Gill at the toss.
India Cricket Team
England Cricket Team
Gautam Gambhir