India head coach Gautam Gambhir is under intense pressure from all quarters for the team's recent performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Gambhir has now been criticized by former Australian spinner Brad Hogg for his earlier comments about India's adaptability.
Ahead of the five-match Test series against Australia, Gautam Gambhir had stated that he wanted India to be adaptable according to the situation. However, Hogg feels that the Indian team only played in an aggressive manner.
According to the former left-arm spinner, a team needs to know how to play defensively if they want to save a Test match. But India's ultra-aggressive style took a toll on them, leading to a flurry of wickets.
Brad Hogg questions India's 'adaptability' under Gautam Gambhir
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Brad Hogg recalled Gautam Gambhir's earlier comments where he wanted the Indian team to adapt. Hogg called on the Indian team to learn how to play defensively along with their attacking game to salvage a Test match.
“The one thing Gautam Gambhir said earlier that he wants his players to be adaptable, to have that aggressive brand of cricket, but when they have to save the Test match, they also have their defensive game. And even I didn't see that in the Indian team to do that as we went forward,” Hogg said.
Team India played an extremely aggressive game which cost them even the Test matches. However, such ultra-aggressive play even gave them an unlikely win against Bangladesh in the two-match Test series.
India have naturally aggressive bowlers in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Pant smashed a quickfire 61 off 33 balls in the second innings of the Sydney Test on a pitch that did enough for the bowler.
Gautam Gambhir's statement on India's adaptability
India head coach Gautam Gambhir had earlier said that he wants the team to adapt to any situation. Gambhir wanted India to be able to score 400 runs in one day and bat for two days to save a Test match.
“We want to be the team that can score 400 runs in a day and bat for 2 days to save a test match as well. And that's the growth and adaptability we're looking for. And that's really what Test cricket is all about. We have drinks in the dressing room that can do both,” Gambhir was quoted as saying by India Today.
However, adaptability has been lacking in the Indian batting line-up so far. The batsmen failed to stay at the crease for long and seemed to be itching to take the game forward too soon.
T20 cricket is considered to be one of the main reasons behind the lack of defense of the Indian batsmen. Players play a lot of T20 cricket and often come back to score runs quickly rather than staying in full for a long time.
Brad Hogg on the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
Brad Hogg further pointed to Gautam Gambhir and his coaching staff for India's decline. He also spoke about the poor form of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma which hurt India badly in the Test series against Australia.
“So Gautam Gambhir has to go or a new head coach brings in his own coaching staff or the assistant coaches have to go too. But I think in that time you have Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli there as well,” remarked Hogg.
“The two leaders who weren't also at the top of their game. So there are a number of variables that you could look for there, which was India's demise at the Test level during that period,” he observed.
The upcoming Champions Trophy will be important for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and could decide their future. Both players are under huge pressure after recent slumps in form.