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Indian Cricket Team's head coach Gautam Gambhir candidly assessed the team's recent performance in the New Zealand series, acknowledging the areas where they fell short.
"Obviously, the learning is that we accept that we were outplayed. I'm not going to sit here and defend. I think we were outplayed in all three departments," Gambhir admitted. "They were more professional, and we accept that. I think the criticism we are receiving, we take it with both hands, and we keep moving forward, and keep getting better every day," he added. Despite the setbacks, Gambhir highlighted the strong relationship he maintains with team captain Rohit Sharma. "My relationship with Rohit has been incredible," he said, reflecting on their past successes. "Three test matches before, we had an incredible test match in Kanpur as well. I know that we haven't played our best cricket, but it doesn't change anything," the Indian team head coach said. Looking ahead to the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Gambhir emphasized the importance of moving forward with a positive mindset. "Australia is a new series and a new opponent. We go out there thinking that we're going to definitely try and win that series," he asserted. Following India's shambolic fall against New Zealand on home turf, the road to the WTC final has become a tricky affair. With a 3-0 series whitewash, India need to win the series by 4-0 to punch their ticket to feature in London for the WTC final for the third successive time. After the conclusion series opener in Perth, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10. Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18. The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series' penultimate stage. The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series. India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar. Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc. (ANI)
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