KL Rahul’s forgettable outing in the opening Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru won’t threaten his place in the side, at least for the second Test in Pune, as head coach Gautam Gambhir firmly backed the Karnataka right-hander on the eve of the must-win match.
Former skipper Virat Kohli’s lukewarm form in the recently concluded 2-0 Test series win over Bangladesh isn’t worrying head coach Gautam Gambhir, who insisted that the star batter remains as hungry as he was when he made his debut and should not be judged after every match.
KL Rahul, who missed the last four Tests of the five-match series against England after suffering a quadriceps injury following the first Test in Hyderabad, is also set for a return, replacing Sarfaraz.
In a video posted by the BCCI on social media, Gambhir was made to sit in front of a laptop to play the message which he didn’t know came from Dravid.
Young batting gun and vice-captain in the white-ball formats, Shubman Gill will look to make the most of the opportunity to cement his place and others like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh and even Riyan Parag will look to do the same.
The former India opener and cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir said social distancing may be easier in cricket compared to other sports.
In conditions where Indian spinners were supposed to wreak havoc, England spinners Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar had more fun that then their Indian counterparts.
"I'm not a big believer that we should split T20 cricket into two innings," said the former Indian opener.
Citing example of Rohit, Gambhir stated that Dhoni believed in his abilities despite him being in and out of the team and that MSD's backing ultimately led to him becoming one of the best white-ball cricketers in the world.
Gautam Gambhir heaped praises on Anil Kumble's leadership ability as well and said that he can give his life for the former leg spinner.
