After India's cricket team suffered a shameful defeat to England in the first Test at Headingley, of the five-match series, head coach Gautam Gambhir bravely spoke up for his young players. England easily finished the 371-run chase, while India lost the first Test by five wickets.

India became the first side in cricket history to lose a match despite scoring five hundreds, thanks to the loss at Leeds, setting an unwelcome record.

The Indian cricket team has been criticized for their subpar fielding, as the lower order failed in both innings and they lost seven catches during the match, including four from Yashasvi Jaiswal. The weak support from change bowlers for Jasprit Bumrah and the decision-making of new Test captain Shubman Gill have also drawn criticism.

Coach Gambhir, however, refused to single out a player or department for India’s loss, and added that they will take the responsibility for the defeat as a unit.

“The first thing is that catches get dropped. The best fielders drop catches. The lower-order batting was a bit disappointing. If we had made 600 in the first innings, we could have dominated. Hopefully, we will learn in the second Test [in Birmingham]. But that is not the only reason we lost. Everyone wants to contribute, and I won’t single out anyone. We lose together and win together,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.

In addition, Gambhir asked for tolerance with youthful skipper Gill, whose strategies have drawn criticism from experts. His field placements and bowling changes, according to critics, were frequently far from what the circumstances called for.

“These are tough places to captain. It’s like pushing someone into the deep sea, and I am sure he is going to come out as a proper professional. Look, first Test match, obviously, there are nerves. It’s a great honour. As he’s already mentioned, captain of the Test side-not many people get that opportunity, and he was phenomenal,” Gambhir added.

Asked if the chastening defeat will make the series even more daunting for Team India’s young players. Gambhir said, “Every defeat is bad. It’s not about the young team. It’s about the experience. We take pride in winning each and every game for our country. Young team is not an excuse. We represent 140 crore proud Indians, and we will try and give our absolute best with no excuses.”

Gambhir also reaffirmed that pacer Bumrah will only play three games in the five-match series, even if India is down 1-0.

“To manage his workload is more important. There’s a lot of cricket going forward, and we know what he brings to the table. Before we came on this tour, it was already decided that he was going to play three Test matches. We haven’t decided which two other Tests he’s going to play,” Gambhir said.

Speaking about the backup bowlers' subpar performance, Gambhir stated that the present bowling group needs support because they are good but very inexperienced.

“This bowling attack has one bowler with five Tests under his belt, one has four, one has played two, and one hasn’t yet debuted. We will have to give them time. Earlier, we used to have four fast bowlers in the squad with an experience of more than 40 Tests. It doesn’t make such a big impact in one-day or T20 matches, but when you go to Australia, England, or South Africa for Tests, experience matters. These are early days.

If we start judging our bowlers after every Test, how will be develop a bowling attack? Outside Bumrah and (Mohammad) Siraj, we don’t have that much experience, but they have quality, which is why they are in this dressing room. But we have got to keep backing them because it’s not about one tour. It’s about building a fast-bowler battery that can serve India for a long time in Test cricket,” Gambhir concluded.

Team India will have plenty of time to regroup, examine their errors, and improve before the next Test begins in Birmingham on July 2.

(PTI inputs)