India head coach Gautam Gambhir didn’t hold himself from accepting that the slam bang of T20 cricket has affected the players’ defense in the longest format of the game. Gambhir’s comments come after Indian batter's struggle New Zealand in first two Tests in the ongoing series. The Indian batting also had a tough time against Sri Lanka in the ODI series in August where the Lankan spinners accumulated a total of 21 wickets. India lost the series 0-2 with one game ending in a tie.
Against New Zealand, Indian batters were undone by the pacers Matt Henry and William ORourke in the Bengaluru Test before Mitchell Santner single-handedly destroyed the hosts with a match haul of 13 wickets including two fifers in Pune.
While the loss against Sri Lanka in the ODIs was India's first in a bilateral ODI series since 1997, New Zealand recorded their first-ever series win in India last week.
Having already lost the series 0-2, Rohit Sharma’s men will aim to turn the tide in Mumbai in the third and final game as the race for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Although India are on top of the WTC table, the hosts still need to win four out of the remaining five Tests, to ensure a passage to the third consecutive summit clash. Post the Mumbai Test, India will travel to Australia for a five-match Test series in Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Gambhir opined that a complete cricketer is who plays all formats successfully. “Sometimes you're so used to muscling the ball that you end up forgetting the soft hands which probably used to happen eight or 10 years back," Gambhir said on Thursday.
"A complete cricketer is a cricketer who plays T20 format and Test cricket successfully. He can adapt his game. Growth is not only about hitting the ball in the stands. It's also about batting sessions on a turning track where you know that you will not be able to hit in the stands but you'll be able to rotate better.
"For that, I think the foundation is very, very important.”
The former India opener also stated the future is at risk for several teams. “But you will see probably going forward in future, we'll have the same issues with a lot of other teams as well because the more the T20 cricket is played, the lesser people will start defending," he added.
The third and final Test between India and New Zealand will start on November 1 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
