Gambhir: Having Bumrah in the team’really an honour’

A major transformation is currently taking place in India, in part because to Jasprit Bumrah. Gautam Gambhir discussed how his influence has expanded well beyond cricket ahead of his maiden Test series in command.

“It has not happened many times in India where we started talking about the bowler,” Gambhir stated. “I believe the focus has always been on batters—battery after batter. At one point, India was a country obsessed with batting. And you really have to give Bumrah, [Mohammed] Shami, [Mohammed] Siraj, [R] Ashwin, and [Ravindra] Jadeja credit for the way they are now transforming this goal into a nation that is fascinated with bowling—not with bowling, as we were discussing earlier.

Despite having just played 36 Tests, Jasprit Bumrah’s stats are astonishing.

He’s taking five wickets in Test matches about once every three, having taken ten so far. He has also been instrumental in some of India’s most notable victories, including those at the Oval in 2021, Melbourne in 2018, and Visakhapatnam in 2024.

“Bumrah is the world’s top fast bowler across all three formats. Furthermore, it’s not just his performance; it’s also his hunger. What’s great is that he wants to play as many Test matches as possible.

“I believe that his performance in the T20 format in the West Indies is comparable to his red-ball cricket feats against England. Therefore, I believe that it is not even a luxury. Having someone like Bumrah playing for us and sitting in that dressing room, in my opinion, is truly an honour. At any point during the game, we have the power to alter and impact the outcome. Therefore, hopefully, we can continue in this series and in the future as well.”

“Want India to adapt and learn quickly,” says Gambhir.

Even though he hasn’t truly coached at any level, Gambhir feels that his 12 years as an all-format opening batsman with the Indian team will help him settle into the role of captain of a very successful Test team. He has no other goal in mind for himself than to help India win games.

I’ve always thought that the winning style is the best style, so instead of sticking to one approach, we want to be a squad that can swiftly learn and adjust. Because there cannot be progress if you begin to adopt just one style. Guys should be playing the circumstances and surroundings and then continue to develop daily. And it’s all that counts. As you can see, in the end, sport is all about results—this labelling of a particular style and one-sided play. And the greatest is the style that prevails, like I just explained.”

There will be a lot of attention on the spinners because this is India’s home season and the Test match versus Bangladesh is being played in Chennai on Thursday. Gambhir described his method for selecting them.

“Obviously, first is the impact they can create on day one and on day five,” he stated. India is really blessed to have individuals such as Ashwin and Jadeja. Additionally, they have bowled rather effectively together, and we are aware of their ability to contribute right away. For one thing, being able to bowl both defensively and offensively is crucial while playing Test cricket. We will thus have an attack capable of taking 20 wickets, and those two players will undoubtedly have a significant influence given the circumstances in India.”

Although India has never lost a Test match against Bangladesh, Gambhir has taken care to ensure that this does not impact their preparation for Thursday’s match in Chennai. “You don’t change your intensity by looking at the opposition,” he stated. “Playing cricket internationally requires you to be hungry for every game, every hour, and every ball. In the end, though, everyone can win when they are representing their country and you are representing yours, along with the other fifteen players. Thus, if you believe that shifting your focus by focussing on Australia or England accomplishes that, I don’t believe any high-caliber team does that. It also shouldn’t be carried out. The side that establishes its own criteria is the champion side.

“The best style is the style that wins and we want to be a team that adapts and that learns quickly, rather than adopting one style. Because if you start adopting one style, then there is no growth”

“There are some pretty good cricket players from Bangladesh. Al Hasan’s Shakib have the experience. Mushfiqur [Rahim] is qualified for the position. You also have a really strong bowling attack. Mehidy Hasan Miraz is also present. Thus, we are aware that Bangladesh has talent. What matters most, though, is that we must turn on from ball one. And that’s what everyone in that dressing room is expected to do.”

Gambhir expresses great satisfaction with the pool of talent at his disposal. “The nicest thing is that, throughout the last seven and a half days of my first tour of Sri Lanka, I have witnessed firsthand how much every player sitting in that dressing room loves to play for India. It’s a common statement that players enjoy playing the IPL. However, this is not entirely true. Nothing is more important than representing your country when you do so.”

However, they do face difficulties while transferring between formats, particularly in Test cricket. Even after winning 17 straight series at home, India hasn’t been exempt from this. It seems as though their batters are experiencing a slight slump in terms of producing large runs.

“This batting line-up has so much quality that we can play any opposition, any bowling line-up, any spin attack in any conditions,” Gambhir stated. “What occurs is that we tend to evaluate [spin playing abilities] a lot by comparing it to one-day and T20 cricket; the two sports are very different. In one-day cricket, defence time is limited. You have time to defend in a test match and use the bowler’s delivery to your advantage. However, your defence is the most crucial factor to consider if you want to perform well in Test cricket.

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“There have been so many excellent wickets in our T20 matches that it sometimes seems like you need to develop a lot of shots.” However, your defence is the cornerstone. When we first started, all children were trained to defend. You can base everything on a robust defensive if it exists. However, there is no assurance that you will be a good Test cricketer even if you believe you have all kinds of shots.”