India head coach Gautam Gambhir has come under severe criticism after the team’s humiliating whitewash in the recently held Test series against New Zealand at home.
The Rohit Sharma-led side lost the three consecutive Test matches in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. This outcome also marked the end of their remarkable streak of 18 consecutive home Test series victories.
India’s embarrassing display has sparked strong reactions from the fans and former players, something that doesn’t surprise the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
According to Gavaskar, even harder questions would be asked from the duo of Gambhir and Rohit if India fail to do well in the upcoming five-Test tour of Australia.
"Well, I think, when a loss happens, then obviously you look, you know, as everything. You know, you look at where the buck stops and the buck has to stop with the with the captain and the coach more than anything else. But it's early days for the coach. What I think is that, while the results speak for themselves because for the first time, we lost in Sri Lanka as well. And now this, you know, lost to New Zealand. Unless things improve in Australia, questions will definitely be asked and harder questions than what you are asking now," Gavaskar told India Today.
When asked if any major change in the Indian team is on the cards, Gavaskar said such a decision is expected to be taken after the conclusion of the Australia tour.
"I don't see any major change happening. I think the major change could like I said, could happen after the tour of Australia. And that too, if we don't do well. But otherwise this team has brought glory to the to the country, as early as this year against England when they came back after a defeat in the first test and won the next four test matches. So yes, this has been a bad series.
"This has been a bad dream. So I'm still very optimistic about this team. I'm still saying that we have to back this team because this is our team and we have to give them all the support so that they go to Australia in a better frame of mind and I can come back with a win, which is for the World Test Championship final," he remarked.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is slated to get underway on November 22 in Perth and the action will then shift to Adelaide (December 6-10), where both teams will face each other in a Day-Night Test. The last three Tests are set to take place in Brisbane (December 14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30), and Sydney (January 3-7).
