‘Picked a team not to lose’: Former India cricketer questions Gautam Gambhir-Shubman Gill approach despite 2-2 draw in England | Cricket News

India captain Shubman Gill speaks with coach Gautam Gambhir throughout a internet session. (Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has delivered a pointed critique of the team administration beneath head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill, saying the duo took an excessively defensive approach throughout the not too long ago concluded Test sequence in England, which ended in a 2-2 draw.While India’s younger facet confirmed commendable battle to bounce again after trailing 1-2, Karthik steered the team’s composition mirrored a concern of dropping moderately than a starvation to win.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“You could almost argue they picked a team not to lose,” Karthik stated 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 wanting blaming captain Shubman Gill, indicating that Gambhir seems to be the first pressure behind team choices.“He [Gambhir] has taken control of the team I feel. He is the driving force of this team with Shubman,” he 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.”

He added that whereas Gambhir has a sturdy observe file in white-ball codecs, he’s nonetheless discovering his ft in the red-ball area.“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.”Under Gambhir’s tenure thus far, India have suffered a 0-3 whitewash at dwelling to New Zealand — the primary in their Test historical past — and a 1-3 loss in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. They additionally failed to attain the World Test Championship ultimate for the primary time.Karthik additionally weighed in on Jasprit Bumrah’s workload administration and dismissed narratives suggesting India win extra with out him.

“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,” he stated.“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.”