Former India coach Ravi Shastri backed current India head coach and former star Gautam Gambhir. It was while he was on air, commentating during the second Test of the three-match series between India and New Zealand which the visitors won and thereby handed India their first-ever Test series loss at home in 12 years.
"New Zealand have beaten them handsomely in both the Test matches. It's food for thought. He [Gambhir] has just taken over the job. It's never easy being the coach of a team that has such a big following. It's still early days in his career as a coach. But he'll soon learn," said the man who coached India in two different stints, with the last one between 2017 and 2021.
Gambhir, after taking over from Rahul Dravid as India's coach, also lost the country’s first bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka in 27 years.
With the loss in the Pune Test, social media critics went after Gambhir, who, as an expert during the India tour of Australia 2020-21, had called Sahtri childish after the latter claimed that the team that beat Australia in Australia, despite being under strength, was the greatest Indian touring side.
“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. It was very childish. Even if you had won 4-1, you wouldn’t say this is the best Indian team touring abroad,” Gambhir had said.
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