India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s patience and anger will be tested in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, feels Harbhajan Singh. Speaking ahead of the series, Harbhajan said that Gambhir is already under pressure having lost the home series agianst New Zealand and will be need to remain calm if India are to do well against Australia.
India were whitewashed at home for the first time in the history of Test cricket in their 3-match Test series against New Zealand. Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma and coaching of Gautam Gambhir, India were outplayed by New Zealand batters and spinners.
India captain Rohit Sharma accepted the flaws in the team and hoped that India will do something special in the 5-match Test series against Australia. Speaking on Jatin Sapru’s YouTube channel, Harbhajan argued that the head coach will be low at the start of the series but needed to keep his head level to steer India in the correct direction.
“It is difficult to run big teams, everyone takes time. If the results were fine, everyone would have said ‘see, Gautam is making the team win’. The series against Australia is important, a lot of things will be tested. Gautam Gambhir who will be sitting outside, his anger and patience will be tested,” Harbhajan Singh said on Jatin Sapru’s YouTube channel.
“He cannot control anything from the outside, big players get frustrated sitting on the sidelines. This Test, Gambhir needs to pass. The tour is very important for Gambhir. In this country, everyone has an opinion. Gautam Gambhir must be feeling low, he is on the radar. If the series doesn’t go well, Gambhir will be at the receiving end. I want him to stay calm and for the team to perform well,” he added.
India begin their opening Test match at Perth on November 22. The team has a lot of selection headaches with Rohit Sharma being unavailable for the game, Shubman Gill injured, and back-up batters not performing up to the mark in the tour games.
