India head coach Gautam Gambhir has admitted the team’s ongoing T20 transition is taking longer than expected, insisting a major “reset” combined with poor adaptation to overseas conditions has played a significant role in their disappointing run in the United Kingdom.
India suffered their heaviest-ever T20I defeat by runs after crashing to a 125-run loss against England in the third T20I at Nottingham on Tuesday. The defeat left the visitors trailing 0-2 in the five-match series and extended their losing streak to four matches following a maiden bilateral T20 series defeat to Ireland.
Despite the poor results, Gambhir maintained that rebuilding a new-look side requires patience.
“We just haven’t played well,” Gambhir said after the match.
Gambhir Says India’s T20 Reset Needs Time
Gambhir pointed to the significant changes made since India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad, saying the current team is still adjusting to life without several experienced players.
The side is now captained by Shreyas Iyer, while World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav is no longer part of the T20 setup following an extended dip in form. India are also without senior stars Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah.
The coach highlighted the presence of several inexperienced players, including 15-year-old opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and fast bowler Prince Yadav, who is playing only his second T20 international.
“When you go for that reset, it takes a bit of time,” Gambhir said.
“We ultimately look only at results, and no doubt results are important in international cricket, but we have to be practical as well.”
Failure To Adapt Has Hurt India In UK
While accepting responsibility for the team’s performances, Gambhir said India’s biggest concern has been their inability to assess match conditions and adapt accordingly.
He believes poor game awareness has been a recurring issue since the Ireland series.
“We haven’t adapted well. Whether it was in Ireland or here in England, that has been the reality,” Gambhir said.
“Sometimes the opposition plays better than you. Sometimes you don’t assess the conditions well enough and you don’t read them well enough. Reading the game is equally important.”
The coach added that understanding factors such as wind direction, ground dimensions and changing match situations often proves decisive in T20 cricket.
“These are small things, but in T20 cricket they can make a massive difference,” he explained.
Prince Yadav Earns Gambhir’s Praise
India were bowled out for just 76 in the third T20I as England’s pace attack, led by Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue, dominated the contest.
Gambhir acknowledged his side must improve against high-quality fast bowling but described the collapse as an isolated performance after India had scored around 190 in each of the opening two matches.
“When you play a high-risk brand of cricket, days like this can happen,” he said.
The India coach reserved special praise for young pacer Prince Yadav, who returned figures of 2/30 while bowling in the powerplay, middle overs and at the death.
“It is easy to look only at the figures, but look at the overs he bowled,” Gambhir said.
“To produce a performance like that in just his second T20I shows he has a bright future. I hope he keeps working hard and keeps getting better.”
Discussion about this post