AB de Villiers Highlights Pressure on India Coach Gambhir
According to AB de Villiers, India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, must accept responsibility for his team’s consecutive T20 series losses to England and Ireland and lead them back to triumph in the shortest format.
The former South African captain believes the 0-2 loss to Ireland and 0-4 loss to England will serve as a wake-up call for the three-time T20 World Cup winners.
He pressed Gambhir to bring the players “down to earth” after they had gotten accustomed to scoring a lot of runs in the IPL. Instead of playing solely aggressive cricket as they do in the lucrative league, Indian hitters will have to bat in accordance with international settings, De Villiers added.
“There’s a lot to worry about. Many eyes and fingers would be aimed at Gautam Gambhir. He must assume leadership and responsibility for the team’s future direction. He has all the necessary certifications.
Perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing to get a wake-up call. “Bring those players who have scored so many runs in the IPL back to earth,” AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
“Let them know that this is international cricket; there are no more weaknesses. In the IPL, there are always one or two bowlers who you believe you can score against. (In international cricket), there is no hiding place, so you must have more than one or two gears. He said, “You can’t always bat in fifth gear.”
In the IPL, players like Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi were smashing runs for fun, but they struggled against England.
Watching India lose 4-0 was painful for AB de Villiers.
AB de Villiers, a former cricket player turned analyst, said it was difficult to watch India lose four games in a five-match series against England, but he wasn’t surprised given the Shreyas Iyer-led team’s inexperience. According to De Villiers, India’s leadership would be critical in the short format going forward.
“It was painful to watch India lose 4-0. I didn’t see that coming. However, this is not entirely unexpected given the lack of experience. Leadership becomes increasingly vital.
I know there are a lot of fingers pointing at Gautam Gambhir. It isn’t just him. He plays a major role. But you’ll have to be patient with the team’s makeup,” AB de Villiers added.
