India won the fifth and final Test against England at the Oval by a narrow margin of six runs, thereby ending the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in a 2-2 draw.
When the Shubman Gill-led side landed in England, no one gave the tourists a chance following the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin from the longest format. But the team in transition proved everyone wrong as they gave the hosts a run of their money in all five Test matches.
This outcome also gave a much-needed breathing space to head coach Gautam Gambhir, who was under-fire for India’s dismal show in the Test format lately.
However, former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik criticised the Gill-Gambhir duo, suggesting that their team selection reflected a fear of defeat rather than a hunger to win.
“You could almost argue they picked a team not to lose,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz. “He [Gambhir] is now getting his way, so he will be responsible for everything that happens in the Indian team. If it does well, credit to him. If it doesn’t do well, he should put his hands up and say, ‘we made a mistake’.”
Karthik stopped short of blaming Gill, highlighting Gambhir's significant influence on team decisions.
“He [Gambhir] has taken control of the team I feel. He is the driving force of this team with Shubman,” Karthik remarked. “The one thing that I feel he can do is almost look at being serious about picking 20 wickets as much as he feels depth in batting is important.”
According to Karthik, Gambhir is an excellent white-ball coach but still finding his feet in the longest format of the game.
“He’s a terrific white-ball coach and the results have been there for us to see. But, in Test cricket, he is also learning on the job.”
Before the England tour, India had conceded the away Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 to Australia and suffered a humiliating 3-0 home whitewash to New Zealand under Gambhir’s guidance.
Karthik also defended Jasprit Bumrah's workload management, dismissing suggestions that the Indian team performs better without the ace pacer.
“You have to look at it from Jasprit Bumrah’s point of view. I think, these kind of wins, the way the series has panned out, the way the young team has fought, it will actually help him in his career. I believe Jasprit Bumrah will be very proud of this young bowling attack,” Karthik said.
“The stat of India winning when he doesn’t play is not his mistake. He is so impactful that others pale in comparison. I hope he will have a longer career, knowing he can pick and choose matches. Two back injuries, one nasty ACL that he had — it’s not easy.”
