Gautam Gambhir breaks silence on career’s most painful coaching experience

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir successfully guided the team to victory in both the ICC Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup, but could not replicate the same success in red-ball cricket. Gambhir’s journey as India’s Test captain began with a disappointing home loss against New Zealand, which was soon followed by a crushing defeat against Australia at home. In a revealing interview with former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra, Gambhir reflected on the tough moments of his career and the defeat to New Zealand stood out prominently in his mind. Blackcaps defeated India 3-0 in this series.

In an interview published by Star Sports during the lunch break on the second day of the second test between India and West Indies, Gambhir stated that he will never forget the defeat against the Black Caps at home.

The discussion started when Chopra asked about the importance of home dominance in Test matches. Gambhir emphasized that if a team truly aims to become the World Test Championship champion, they must try to dominate not only at home but also in away matches.

“It doesn’t matter if you want to be the best team in the world. I don’t just think home dominance is important. I think home possession is equally important. And this young team showed that. England was probably the toughest test for us. A young, inexperienced team goes to England and performs as well.

“More importantly, it was very, very important to me not the results but how they competed day in and day out. So I don’t really believe that we need to have home superiority to qualify for the World Test Championship final. Because if you only dominate at home, then you don’t deserve to be World Test Championship winners,” he said.

When asked about the painful home defeat against New Zealand, Gambhir stated that it was a chapter of his coaching career that he will carry with him for life. He even stated that he believed in the necessity of reminding his team of this defeat and emphasized the importance of never underestimating any opponent, regardless of the circumstances.

“I don’t think I can forget this in my coaching career. In fact, I shouldn’t forget this. I told the kids that too.

“It’s important to look forward. But sometimes it’s also important to remember the past. Because if you forget the past, then you can start to take things for granted. You shouldn’t take things for granted. Because I felt like everyone in New Zealand thought we could get past them. But that’s the reality and that’s the sport,” he said.

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