“Gautam Gambhir is not important; Indian cricket is”: Take the blunt of the head coach

In the thick of India’s challenging five-Test tour of England, head coach Gautam Gambhir has opened up about the value of first-class cricket and the emotional weight of representing India in the longest format. The former opener, who took over the national role following his successful stint in the IPL, sat down for a candid chat with Cheteshwar Pujara during the third Test at Lord’s.

Gambhir, who guided India to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 title earlier this year, has had a tougher ride in Test cricket. Under his tenure, India have faced a historic 0-3 home series defeat to New Zealand and lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 in Australia, missing out on a third successive World Test Championship (WTC) final. Yet, the 2011 World Cup winner remains deeply invested in the red-ball reset and believes that it is the first time that the Indian team is in transition across all three departments.