India-England Test Series: Gautam Gambhir’s strategy or England’s situation—know who will prevail?

After the defeat in the Leeds Test, India now has a golden opportunity to make a comeback. The second match will be played at Edgbaston ground in Birmingham from July 2

New Delhi: The second match of the ongoing five-match Test series between India and England will be played at Edgbaston ground in Birmingham from July 2. After the defeat in the Leeds Test, India now has a golden opportunity to make a comeback. At the same time, the England team looks full of confidence. For India, this match will not only be a test of equalizing the series but also of the strategic maturity of head coach Gautam Gambhir.

Will coaching change the direction of a career?

This is India's first major tour to England under Gautam Gambhir's coaching, and he is facing criticism after the defeat in Leeds. His record as a coach is one test and one loss. However, he still has the opportunity of four Test matches to change the direction of his coaching career.

It is worth noting that after the year 2000, the coaching record of the Indian team in England has not been very good. Even with big names like John Wright, Gary Kirsten, Duncan Fletcher, Ravi Shastri, and Rahul Dravid, the team has shown mixed performance.

Will there be victory this time?

During John Wright's tenure, India won one out of four matches, lost one, and drew two. Under Gary Kirsten's coaching, Team India had a shameful 4-0 defeat in 2011. Under Duncan Fletcher's coaching, India started well in 2014 but then lost the series by losing three consecutive Tests.

The most successful coach was Ravi Shastri, under whose leadership India won three out of 10 Test matches and lost six. One test was a draw. In 2021, India was ahead 2-1 against England under Shastri's coaching, but the final test was played later in which he was not the coach.

Under Rahul Dravid's coaching, India played a Test in England in 2022 and the WTC final in 2023 but lost both matches. Now Gambhir has a chance to prove himself, but history tells us that the soil of England has always been challenging for Indian coaches.

This time the team is captained by young Shubman Gill, and many players on the team are playing in English conditions for the first time. The coming four Tests will decide how successful this pair of coach Gambhir and captain Gill will be. Not only is India's comeback at stake in the Birmingham Test, but also Gambhir's coaching reputation.