Before the five-match Test series against England, India head Gautam Gambhir faced severe heat, especially when the team lost 3-1 to Australia Down Under. Also, with only two wins from nine Tests before the England series, the former opener's role as coach of the red-ball format was under heavy scrutiny. Eyebrows were further raised when India lost the first Leeds Test. However, after that setback, the Shubman Gill-led side rallied well, displaying courage and determination to secure a 2-2 draw.
Cricketer-turned-expert Dinesh Karthik feels the next goal for India is to take 20 wickets. While the team managed to achieve this feat in two of the five Tests against England, they failed to take regular wickets in the remaining three Tests, enabling two wins for the hosts.
"Gautam Gambhir had a very ordinary series vs New Zealand at home, goes without saying. He continued to have a poor series against Australia. Now, he has taken control of the team, I feel. This is a team handpicked by him; this is a young team. He is the driving force of this team with Shubman," Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
"The one thing that I would think that he can do is, can he almost look at being serious about picking 20 wickets as much as he feels about depth in batting? He's a terrific white-ball coach, and the results have been there for us to see. But, in Test cricket, he is also learning on the job. He is a young coach. He's not done too many five-day games, not too much domestic cricket for him to have that volume of experience. We don't know what language he speaks in the dressing room, but they are a bunch of fired-up youngsters."
A certain level of defensive thinking was behind Gambhir's squad selection: Karthik
The former India keeper further observed that Gambhir's squad picked for the England series was largely more on the defensive side. Calls to include Kuldeep Yadav, who is a genuine wicket-taker, were ignored by the coach. Although this time the head coach got away with harsh criticism due to India's 2-2 draw, Karthik said that Gambhir should take ownership of his mistakes.
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"You could almost argue they picked a team not to lose. He is now getting his way, so he will be responsible for everything that happens in the Indian team. If it does well, credit to him. If it doesn't do well, he should put his hands up and say, ‘We made a mistake, '" the 40-year-old Karthik added.
"For this England series, he should be proud of the effort the boys put in."
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After the England series, India will get a one-month break, after which they will be seen in the Asia Cup, starting on September 09 to 28.
