‘He was a player who was willing to fight for the team, he has passed that on to us as coach’ – Shardul Thakur bats for Gautam Gambhir amid criticism

Gautam Gambhir, India’s head coach, has faced much criticism, particularly for the Asian giants’ red-ball cricket performances throughout his tenure. Following a clean sweep of Bangladesh, India has lost two consecutive series at home to New Zealand and Australia Down Under. They recently drew the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2 with an incomplete England team.

However, India has had some issues, with the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma just before the England tour. These actions forced India to pick a new skipper, and youthful Shubman Gill seized the helm. The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy marked the beginning of India’s shift, and Gambhir deserves credit for his support of the team’s youthful players.

Shardul Thakur, who was on the tour and played a few Tests, praised Gambhir for instilling a lot of confidence in the team.

The Mumbai all-rounder, who will head West Zone in the next Duleep Trophy, stated that Gambhir was known for his fighting attitude during his playing days, and that is how he wants the current Indian players to play.

“Yes, we have always seen him as a player who is willing to fight for the team, and even during the huddles, he transferred that energy into us as the one that he brought into the field during his playing days,” Thakur said in an interview with Revsportz.

“He is an achiever who has won trophies for the nation and the state. And he brings all those experiences and motivations into the team. Criticism will come and go, but as a team, winning matters, and I believe we are heading in the right direction when it comes to that,” he added.