“We don’t want to fear losing a game. We want to get to a total of 250-260, and at times we will get bowled out for 120, but we are on the right track.
We are going to do this going forward, got to play fearless cricket. We want to keep backing players like Abhishek Sharma. We have to be patient with these boys, it’s important to keep backing them. Most of these boys believe in the ideology of playing fearless cricket.”
This was the message from Gautam Gambhir right after India trounced England at the Wankhede stadium to win the series 4-1. Gambhir certainly has seen his magic work when it comes to T20 cricket as his approach and mantra have worked wonders. First, it was with KKR as they ended a title drought and won the IPL title. Then he was handed the reins of the Indian team in all 3 formats. What has followed since that, hasn’t been the best of times for the former opener.
His ODI side failed against Sri Lanka and then the Test team side lost 0-3 to New Zealand at home and 1-3 to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The noise certainly amped up after the losses in the longest format of the game. But one place Gambhir was able to get success was the T20I format, as the Indian team have looked unstoppable since their T20 World Cup win.
The main reason for this has been the transition that has taken place, which Gambhir needs in Tests as well.
The T20I side is almost unrecognisable yet delivers
If you look at the team that won the T20 World Cup and the one that played the match at the Wankhede, it’s almost unrecognisable. There is no Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the top and Ravindra Jadeja to be the bowling all-rounder in the side.
Kohli and Rohit have been replaced by Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson at the top with Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting in the wings. The spin attack has vastly improved, with Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel doing the job that Jadeja did for many years.
Obviously, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah will come straight into the side during big tournaments, but Arshdeep Singh has shown that he can be the leader of the pace attack.
In all these areas, India have been able to phase out the seniors with young blood. But it’s not just about youth.
Adapting to the mantra
Whenever a new system comes into place, for it to work, you need the right players. Having someone like KL Rahul, who is known to take his time at the start, may not yield the same result as having a fearless Abhishek go off from ball one.
This is where the Test team needs a shot up the arm. It’s not just having young players in but the right profiles. Someone like a Suryakumar Yadav is 34, but he has fully embraced his role in the side. Yes, he may have failed against England, but he is surely not dying wondering what’s next.
For the Test team, India needs to find the right transition and the correct profiles to come in for success to come through.
The Test arena is also slowly becoming all about wins, as sides are not happy to settle for draws and aim for big wins within the first 3 days of the game. For the Indian team, they need players who will come in and allow them to play fearless cricket, regardless of the conditions and opposition.
This means a transition, much like the T20I side, is highly needed. And then we could see the fearless cricket finally come through. And Gambhir’s mantra won’t change. He ended his discussion with the experts, laying out his mantra for the Champions Trophy.
“We want to play as aggressively as we can in the ODIs, want to entertain the crowd,” said Gambhir.
The fans are eager to see excitement come into the Test side as a new cycle of the World Test Championship will start. By then, Indian cricket will hope the team for the longest format of the game will have some names who live up to the mantra of fearless cricket in the team.
