Gautam Gambhir requests India carry the scars from their New Zealand nightmare forever. The head coach spoke bluntly about last year’s 0-3 home whitewash. His message during a JioHotstar chat left no room for sugar-coating.
India hadn’t lost a home series since 2012 before New Zealand arrived. Rohit Sharma’s captaincy faced its toughest test and failed spectacularly then. That defeat still stings everyone involved with Indian cricket badly.
The 46 All-Out Disaster
Bengaluru witnessed something nobody imagined possible on Indian soil that day. India got all out for 46 runs during the Test. Batsmen walked back one after another like dominoes falling in sequence.
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Bangladesh fell 2-0 to India just weeks before this series started. Confidence was sky-high entering the New Zealand matches after that win. Then reality hit hard across three painful Tests without respite anywhere.
“If I am being honest, and speak from the heart, I don’t think that in my coaching tenure, I can ever forget that, and I should never forget that,” Gambhir said.
“I have told this to the boys as well, it is important to look forward, but sometimes it is also important to remember the past as well. Everyone thought we would roll over New Zealand. In that dressing room, we need to keep reminding that New Zealand happened,” he added.
Gautam Gambhir requests India bottle this feeling and revisit it regularly. He doesn’t want comfortable players forgetting how low they sank together. The coach believes pain teaches better than any victory celebration ever could.
Turning Hurt Into Hunger
Their World Test Championship campaign took a serious beating from this whitewash. Three straight losses at home damaged India’s chances of reaching the final. New Zealand exposed weaknesses nobody wanted to acknowledge before then.
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“The pressure is on me every day. Whether it be after the New Zealand debacle, whether it be after Australia or after winning the Champions Trophy. Ultimately, we are representing 140 crore Indians,” Gambhir said.
Gambhir hasn’t endured only failures during his coaching stint so far. His team lifted the Champions Trophy earlier this year under pressure. That white-ball triumph offered a brief escape from Test cricket’s harsh reality check.
Gautam Gambhir requests India never lose sight of their lowest moment again. Coaching this team means handling pressure every single day without breaks. He carries those New Zealand losses wherever India plays next now.
