Gautam Gambhir Unimpressed By Critics' Assault On Virat Kohli Post-New Zealand Series

Former World Cup winner and Team India opener Gautam Gambhir was ‘sad’ to see how the Indian media and some former players reacted to India’s series loss to New Zealand. The Kiwis, in their home conditions, whitewashed India in the ODIs and as well as the Test series.

Indian stalwarts such as Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, struggled to stamp their authority in New Zealand and came under huge criticism by both fans and critics.

Gambhir, in his column for TOI, expressed his disappointment in the way Kohli and his team were targetted in the aftermath of their exploits versus New Zealand.

Gautam Gambhir laments critics’ assault on Virat Kohli and his men post-New Zealand loss:

“I was once again disappointed by the way critics went after Virat Kohli and his men after the 2-0 Test series loss against New Zealand. Everything was questioned. Selection choices, the atmosphere in the dressing room, Jasprit Bumrah’s sharpness, or the lack of it, and even Virat Kohli’s eyesight,” wrote the 38-year-old. 

He continued, “Prithvi Shaw was touring New Zealand in India colours for the first time. Mayank Agarwal is not too old in the piece. In the absence of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, the dependency on Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were way too much. In the end, the conditions proved way too challenging.”

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Gautam Gambhir opens up on things that didn’t go in India’s favour versus New Zealand:

The Delhi-born cricketer-turned-politician also stated that India missed Ishant Sharma’s experience dearly, whilst also criticising the management for not retaining KL Rahul in the Test squad.

“Our bowling department was well-served especially with Ishant Sharma returning, though, unfortunately, he ended up getting injured. If anything, I was disappointed to see them playing with four bowlers. As I wrote in the past as well, India should always play with five specialist bowlers. Apart from this, they should have retained KL Rahul in the Test team, ” added Gambhir. 

India will look to bounce back from their latest setback by putting up a good show against South Africa in the three-match ODI series at home.

The first ODI was scheduled to be played on Thursday although rain has played the spoilsport, at Dharamsala. The three-match series opener has been abandoned due to rain following a torrential downpour.

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