'Series draw against England saved Gambhir’s job,' claims former India cricketer

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif on Wednesday claimed that head coach Gautam Gambhir was under immense pressure during India's Test series in England and believed the 2-2 result may have saved his red-ball coaching career.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif said Gambhir faced the most scrutiny during the tour, especially following previous Test series defeats at home against New Zealand and Australia. 

Kaif said a series loss in England could have spelled the end of Gambhir’s tenure as Test coach.

“The most pressure on this tour was on him. As a coach, he hadn’t been very successful in Tests. I feel people were just waiting, if India had lost this series, most of the criticism would have been directed at him,” Kaif said.

“There are people on social media ready to troll him or make memes. Maybe this would have been his last Test series as coach. That’s how much pressure he was under. But now, credit where it’s due,  he deserves praise.”

Kaif also lauded Gambhir’s strategic decisions during the tour, particularly his insistence on batting depth even in the absence of key pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

“Everyone was saying Kuldeep should play in Bumrah’s absence. But Gambhir prioritised batting depth, wanting contributions down to number eight and it worked.

"Look at Jadeja and Sundar’s impact in the two Tests we won. It was a young team, and the pressure on him was huge,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention that India managed to draw the five-match series 2-2, despite missing veterans like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin.