Mumbai: India head coach Gautam Gambhir always feels like a marked man. Recently, in a TV interview, he had stated that some former players questioned his competence as coach when the team lost in Australia, and how issues were created about the distribution of the Champions Trophy reward.The knives had already started to get sharpened when a team usually dominant at home lost 0-3 to New Zealand before the trip Down Under last year.If one thinks victory in the Champions Trophy in the UAE would have eased the spotlight, Gambhir says he is under no such illusion. “Regardless of whether I would have won the Champions Trophy or not, I’m always under pressure. Being the Indian coach, you want results. It does not change with winning or losing.”The England tour will be another tough gig for Gambhir as he leads a young captain and a young team, sans the superstars of the past, as India eye an improved show in their bid to qualify for the final of the 2027 World Test Championship.
While the endless supply line of players in white-ball cricket makes his task for the shorter formats easier, the transition in red-ball cricket is a potentially rocky path. Overseas Test success is something that Indian coaches are evaluated on and Gambhir is aware of it. “It’s a good opportunity to do something special for the country,” he said. “We have a talented squad and a bunch of players who are willing to express themselves and do something special.”One of the talismans in the squad is the genius called Jasprit Bumrah. One saw in Australia how heavily India’s attack depended on him. With the medical team and chief selector ajit Agarkar making it clear that Bumrah’s workload will be monitored and he will play only three of the five Tests, it is a tricky call for Gambhir to decide which of the five Tests Bumrah will feature in. “We have not taken that call which three games he is going to play,” he said, adding: “It depends on the state of the series and which way the series is heading. I’m sure he is aware of that too.”
