Gautam Gambhir (Sahil Malhotra-x)
TimesofIndia.com in Manchester: India head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed pride in his team’s resilience after they drew the fourth Test at Old Trafford to stay alive in the series. Speaking after the match, Gambhir said the players had laid the foundation of a team that believes in fighting for the people back home. “Many wrote us off. This is the foundation of the team. I don’t believe in transition, this is the best 18. Just a little bit of inexperience,” Gambhir said in his press conference. On comparisons with his own famous knock in Napier during 2009, Gambhir was firm that this group is carving their own path. “This team will not follow anyone and doesn’t want to follow. They want to fight for the common man back home. The way people had written us off before the start of the game, this is the foundation of this team that the people sitting in the dressing room want to fight for the country.” There was praise reserved for Shubman Gill, who scored his fourth hundred of the series. “There was no doubt on Shubman Gill’s talent. Those who had, they only know to talk about cricket. There is no burden of captaincy on Gill.” Gambhir also confirmed that Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the final Test at The Oval due to his serious foot injury. “Any amount of praise is not enough for him, to bat with a broken foot. Generations should talk about it. It’s unfortunate.” He brushed aside concerns over team selection and said everyone available had been picked with clear roles in mind. “We don’t drop anyone. We pick the best XI. We felt a left-hander at No.3 against this attack would have been better. Anshul Kamboj also was picked because we thought he would do well in overcast conditions.”
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There was no update on Jasprit Bumrah, but Gambhir confirmed that all quick bowlers are currently fit. He also acknowledged the centuries by Jadeja and Sundar, saying, “If someone is batting on 90 or 85, won’t you allow them to score a hundred? Both those guys deserved hundreds and fortunately they got it.” Looking ahead to the Oval Test, Gambhir was clear. “I believe in results and we are still down 2-1, hopefully we will try and make it 2-2.” India will head to The Oval needing a win to square the five-match series.
