MUMBAI: India’s singular focus over the next two months is on winning the five-match series in Australia and the players will not be distracted by the race to reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final, head coach Gautam Gambhir said on Monday.
India were in pole position to make the WTC final until a 3-0 whitewash by New Zealand earlier this month allowed Australia to leapfrog them.
Captain Rohit Sharma must now guide his side to a 4-0 win in Australia to guarantee a spot in the final, though their path could become easier depending on the results of other series.
“We are not looking at what’s going to happen in the World Test Championship, whether we are going to qualify [for the final],” Gambhir said in a pre-departure press conference. “Every series is important, as simple as that, when you are playing for your country ...
“For us, it’s two good teams playing each other and we are absolutely keen to go out there and perform and win the series.”
India prevailed in their last two Australia tours but their batting looks less than formidable this time.
The skipper is likely to miss the opening Test in Perth beginning on Nov 22 to attend the birth of his second child while Virat Kohli has been out of form.
Gambhir backed “incredibly tough men” Sharma and Kohli to prove their critics wrong and find form in Australia.
The duo came under fire after India crashed to a humiliating home defeat to New Zealand.
Gambhir said he had “no concerns for Virat and Rohit”.
“They are incredibly tough men,” he said. “They’ve achieved a lot for Indian cricket and they will continue to achieve a lot in the future as well.”
Gambhir believed the biggest challenge in Australia will be the quicker pitches compared to India, where conditions are traditionally spin-friendly.
But Gambhir said his side were ready to “fire from ball one”.
“We’ve been to Australia many times, so that experience will be crucial,” said the coach, who has also faced some flak.
“If we play to our potential, we play our best cricket, we can beat anyone on any wicket.”
Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2024
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