India head coach Gautam Gambhir has made it clear he’s not interested in celebrating individual milestones after India’s defeat in the opening Test against England at Headingley. Despite five Indian centuries, including two from vice-captain Rishabh Pant, the team fell short, and Gambhir wasn’t ready to sugar-coat the result.When asked about Pant’s twin tons and whether they were a silver lining in the loss, Gambhir, as per PTI, brushed off the question. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“There are three more centuries as well. Those are big positives as well. Thank you,” he replied tersely, underlining his focus on the collective rather than the individual.India, despite posting a mammoth 835 runs across both innings, were unable to defend 371 in the final innings. England pulled off a record chase, thanks to Ben Duckett’s rapid 149 and key contributions from Zak Crawley and Joe Root. The game also made history — never before had a team lost a Test after scoring five centuries.
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Meanwhile, fast bowler Harshit Rana has been released from the squad ahead of the second Test, as reported earlier by TimesofIndia.com. Initially brought in as injury cover, Rana was not seen with the team as they departed Leeds for Birmingham. Gambhir confirmed there was no longer any injury concern, and hence, Rana would return home.“I haven’t spoken to the chairman of selectors yet, but there was a bit of a niggle in the group. That’s why we wanted him as backup. But at the moment, everything looks fine,” Gambhir had earlier said during the press conference.
India now have two days to recover before regrouping for the second Test at Edgbaston on July 2. With England leading the five-match series 1-0, the pressure is on the visitors to bounce back; and for Gambhir, results, not reputations, will dictate the narrative.
