CRICKET
India's top five batters did well overseas, scoring five centuries. However, the lower-order batsmen, bowlers, and poor fielding let the team down. Consequently, India allowed England to chase 371 runs on Day 5 easily.
Gautam Gambhir's coached Team India faced yet another loss in a Test match succumbing to England in Leeds by 5 wickets. Under Gambhir's leadership India has secured only 3 victories out of 11 Tests and they face a challenging task against England in the remaining four Test matches on their home turf. Following this latest defeat, Gambhir's previous remarks about Ravi Shastri gained traction on X. In a past interview, Gambhir had questioned Shastri's qualifications asking if he had achieved any significant victories.
Shastri was a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad. Additionally, in 1985, he earned the title of Player of the Series during the World Championship of Cricket, which India won.
“I’m sure that people who haven’t won anything give these kinds of statements. I don’t know what Shastri has achieved in his career apart from winning the World Championship in Australia. I don’t think he was a part of an overseas series win. If you haven’t won anything yourself, you end up giving this kind of statement. I’m sure people wouldn’t have taken this seriously. I’m sure he must not have seen enough cricket. If he had he seen enough cricket, he wouldn’t have given that statement," Gammbir told News18 in 2018.
Here’s how Gautam Gambhir verbally insulted former coach Ravi Shastri after Shastri said, “We now have the best overseas we team in the last 15 years.”
— Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintiwari952) January 5, 2025
pic.twitter.com/M8SSrmK44Q
"It was very childish. Even if you had won 4-1, you won’t say this is the best Indian team touring abroad. You would still stay humble and say we want to take this, we want to go forward, we want to keep improving. You wouldn’t say this is the best Indian team ever overseas. This is childish. I’m sure people wouldn’t have taken this seriously. I don’t know about other people but I didn’t take it seriously because it was a very immature statement."
Under Ravi's coaching, India faced a 4-1 loss to England in 2018. However, they made a strong comeback against Australia, clinching the series 2-1. This marked India's inaugural series victory in Australia. In the 2020/21 season, a second-string Indian team replicated this success, achieving another Test series win in Australia. By 2021, India returned from England with a 2-1 advantage.
Although India did not secure an ICC trophy during Ravi's tenure, they were dominant in Test cricket, suffering only two home defeats throughout Shastri's leadership.