Former South African captain AB de Villiers has put his weight behind under-fire head coach Gautam Gambhir after the UK tour. India suffered a 0-2 T20I series loss against Ireland and then suffered a 0-4 series loss against England.
India were then beaten 1-2 by England in the ODI series. After three back-to-back series losses, Gautam Gambhir has come under scrutiny for the team’s mundane performances. Earlier, India lost ODI series against Australia and New Zealand.
However, AB said Gambhir has been trying new players while keeping the next T20 and ODI World Cup in mind.
“Gambhir was possibly looking at the 2027 World Cup, possibly even the next T20 World Cup and trying out new players, trying out those who have done well in the IPL and trying to give those players experience in different conditions. That is the big thing that stands out to me. When you go to England and play a T20 series, you cannot have the IPL mindset. You have to play each game to the conditions you are confronted with. It was important for them to go through the process with a young team and realise that sometimes 170 is enough. Obviously, he would have loved to win, but I think it was a priority for him to take these youngsters to England,” AB de Villiers said in a video on his YouTube channel.
AB said the media is targeting Gautam Gambhir after India’s yet another ODI series loss. However, he reckons India will be one of the favourites in the major ICC tournament with the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir at the helm.
“Once again, the media is going ballistic looking at Gambhir’s record with losing out in the ODI series against Australia, Sri Lanka, and now England, so three in a row, definitely feeling the pressure there. Not ideal with that T20 series against England being a whitewash and also in the Test arena, feeling a bit of pressure. But once again, when it comes to India and Gambhir, you speak about Rohit and Virat, when it comes to big tournaments and big games, you absolutely cannot fall this team and their thinking.”
The former RCB batter said Gambhir is the right man to take Indian cricket forward.
“VVS Laxman will be taking over the team in Zimbabwe. Is it just an opportunity to give Gambhir a rest, or are the selectors saying that maybe we start dibbling and dabbling at a new coach, giving Laxman the kind of experience he needs to take over? I don’t believe they are there yet, and Gambhir is the guy to take them forward. He’s built a really good support staff around him,” he said.
The first T20I between India and Zimbabwe will be played at Harare on Thursday.
