Newly appointed India head coach Gautam Gambhir has kicked off his tenure with a commanding 3-0 T20I series victory over Sri Lanka. In his post-series address, Gambhir praised the team’s performance and particularly praised Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership. The comments were highlighted in a video released by the BCCI on social media.
Gambhir began his speech by extending congratulations to the team and captain Suryakumar Yadav. He emphasized the significance of their triumph, noting that their relentless effort and determination were key to their success. “Congratulations on a great series win. Special congratulations to Surya for his outstanding captaincy and his impressive performances with the bat,” Gambhir said. He acknowledged the team’s ability to fight hard for every delivery and run, which he believed was crucial to their series victory.
The new head coach reflected on the game’s challenges and urged his players to continue improving their skills, especially in adapting to varied pitch conditions. He stressed the importance of assessing match situations quickly and understanding what constitutes a competitive score. “There’s a lot of learning from this series. We need to keep getting better, especially in handling different types of wickets,” Gambhir advised. He also set a clear expectation for the players to maintain high fitness levels in preparation for the upcoming series against Bangladesh.
Gambhir concluded his speech with a call to action regarding fitness. He informed the players who would not participate in the 50-over format to use their break wisely and ensure they return in top condition. “Make sure that when you come back for the Bangladesh series, your fitness levels are at their peak. You don’t want to return thinking you can just turn up and perform without proper preparation,” Gambhir cautioned.
Following Gambhir’s remarks, all-rounder Hardik Pandya took the floor to share his thoughts. Pandya echoed Gambhir’s praise for Suryakumar Yadav, highlighting his crucial role in both batting and captaincy. “First of all, well done! I think in batting first, we were challenged, and conditions were difficult, but I think after losing those early wickets Shubman (Gill) and Riyan (Parag) the way they batted and created the partnership was brilliant. When you speak about situational awareness, I think that point of time, what you both did was very, very important. And that gave us a platform to at least reach a decent total which our bowlers made sure bowl at the right areas. Especially, I always emphasize on the fact that the lower order has to come and chip in and I think Washi (Washington Sundar) and those 8 runs by Bishi (Ravi Bishnoi) were very important.”
Head Coach Gautam Gambhir Hardik Pandya addresses the dressing room as the action now shifts to the ODIs in Colombo #TeamIndia | #SLvIND | @GautamGambhir | @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/PFrTEVzdvd — BCCI (@BCCI) July 31, 2024
“As Gauti bhai mentioned, Surya, well done on making sure that the way you rotated the bowlers, making sure, showing faith in the bowlers, which you gave in the last couple of overs. That was brilliant. And as a bowling group, obviously it was fantastic everyone chipped in, eventually it kind of takes us forward. done to all the guys who are playing ODIs, kill it!,” he said.
India will now shift focus to the 3-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, though Suryakumar Yadav will not be part of this next leg of fixtures. The team’s preparation and performance in the ODI series will be crucial as they aim to build on their T20I success.