Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Highlights: 5 key takeaways as India take on Bangladesh in 1st Test | Cricket News

India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir press conference: A day before India face off against Bangladesh in the first Test at Chennai, head coach Gautam Gambhir touched upon various aspects as the team gears up for a long season ahead.
The former India batter on Wednesday talked about the batters’ recent struggle against spin, Rishabh Pant and how players like Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are dispelling the trend of India just being a batter-obsessed country.
Here’s some of the key takeaways from the Indian coach’s press conference:
Gambhir on Rishabh Pant
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be making his return to the longest format against Bangladesh for the first time since his accident in December 2022 which led to him missing more than a year in cricket and coach Gambhir lauded his skills, especially behind the stumps.
“We all know how destructive he can be and what he has done. Not many of his age has done it across conditions. With batting and behind the stumps he has been phenomenal. His batting overshadows his keeping especially against the spinners,” he said.
Gambhir on the batters’ recent struggles against spin
Gambhir defended his batting unit when questions were raised over their discomfort against spin bowling in the recently-concluded Sri Lankan ODI series where the Lankan tweakers took 27 wickets in the 3-match series, handing India a 0-2 drubbing.
“Our batting unit has so much quality that it can take on any spin unit. There is a lot of difference between ODIs and Tests. It’s all about the mindset and working and strengthening your defence and once you have it, then you play around it,” Gambhir said.
Gambhir on Bangladesh
The head coach was also wary about the threat that Bangladesh possess with a quality spin attack and with the recent series win against Pakan, they are a unit positively brimming in confidence. Gambhir congratulated the Bangla Tigers and stressed that they will not take the visitors lightly.
“I congratulate them for what they did in Pakan. But this is a new series and they are a quality side and we want to play good cricket. Yes they have experience in Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mehidy but we want to be switched on from ball 1,” he said.
“I have been big believer that we don’t fear anyone but we respect everyone. It is the same with Bangladesh. We don’t look at the opposition and play the game we know,” he added.
Gambhir on how Bumrah and Co are wiping away the trend of India being batting-obsessed nation
“You’ve got to give credit to (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami, (Mohammed) Siraj, (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja. They’re turning this nation into a bowling obsessed one. In fact, Bumrah is the best bowler in the world. It’s not just his performance. It’s his hunger as well. And the best part is that he wants to play as much Test cricket as he can. It is not even a luxury. He can make a difference at any stage of the game. So yes, hopefully, he can do the same in this series and going forward as well,” he said.

On Tests lasting three days and lasting more:
“There has been a lot of talk on this. But when India go to South Africa and Test ends in 2 days nobody talks about it. When fast bowlers get enough help nobody talks about it. This debate has to end. You can’t say Tests get over in India in two days… then opposition have to learn to play spinners,” Gambhir said.