India vs New Zealand: Gautam Gambhir firm on high-risk, high-reward plan

Indian coach also wants bowlers to get their due

BENGALURU: Over the next nine months, India play 13 Test matches, starting with the series opener against New Zealand beginning Wednesday. While the focus will understandably be on workload management, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir believes adaptability will play a huge role in the brand of cricket Rohit Sharma & Co. play.

"We want to be a team that can make 400 runs in a day and bat for two days to draw. And that's called growth and adaptability. That's called Test cricket . If you play the same way, then it's not growth. We have a lot of individuals in the dressing room who can bat for two days. So, ultimately, the first motive is to win the match," said Gambhir , who began his red ball journey as a coach with a 2-0 series win over Bangladesh.

India walked the talk against Bangladesh in Kanpur. With the first three days truncated due to rain, India pulled off a convincing seven-wicket win with plenty to spare.

The former Indian opener also stressed on players being expressive on the field. "We want players to go out there and play the natural game. If they can get 400-500 runs in a day, why not? We will play it that way. High-risk, high reward; High-risk, high failure. There will be days when we'll get bundled out for 100 and we'll take it. And we'll continue to back our players to play high-risk cricket. That's how we want to play and that's how we want to keep the game going forward," he elaborated.

India, who are on an 18 Test match-winning spree at home since 2013, will start favourites against the struggling Black Caps , but Gambhir warned against complacency.

"New Zealand is a completely different challenge. They're a very good team with high-quality players. They've got players who can hurt us and do the job for them as well. So, we respect them, but we don't fear anyone. We need to be switched on from ball one. And that is the responsibility of the support staff to keep the players switched on whether we are batting or bowling first," he added.

Gambhir also called for a change in attitude toward bowlers and their contribution to a team.

"This is the time of the bowlers. Batsmen only set up matches. Our batsman-obsessed attitude must end. If a batsman makes a thousand runs, there is no guarantee that he will win the Test match. But if a bowler takes 20 wickets, there is 99% chance of winning. So, I hope that this era or this time, we will talk more about bowlers as compared to batters. And I hope that this mindset will change in the future," said Gambhir.

🗣️🗣️ We want to be the team that can score 400 in a day and also the team that can bat for two days to draw a Test.

Head Coach Gautam Gambhir talks about #TeamIndia's adaptability and approach. #INDvNZ | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @GautamGambhir pic.twitter.com/Ta6MlGmbLh

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 14, 2024