Gambhir Backs India's Tailenders After England Test Collapse, Cites Fielding Woes and Bumrah's Limited Role

Following a disappointing defeat at Headingley, where India fell short against England in the first Test of their 2025 tour, head coach Gautam Gambhir has voiced his support for the team's lower-order batsmen. Despite scoring 835 runs and featuring five centurions, including Rishabh Pant's centuries in both innings, India's two batting collapses proved costly.

India's dropped catches hurt their chances in the Test match. © Getty

India suffered a dramatic loss of 7 wickets for 41 runs in their first innings and followed it up with 6 wickets for 31 runs in the second. These collapses undermined what could have been a dominant position after winning the toss. The second collapse, in particular, left India defending a target of 371, which England chased down with relative ease.

While captain Shubman Gill revealed the team had aimed for a target of around 435, Gambhir believes a first-innings score of 570 or 580 would have allowed India to dictate terms.

However, Gambhir defended the lower order's performance, despite Shardul Thakur's expansive shots leading to his dismissal in both innings and Prasidh Krishna's attempted slog sweep resulting in his wicket.

"Look, first of all, it's not that they weren't applying themselves. Sometimes people fail. And that's okay," Gambhir stated. "It's not like they're not working hard in the nets. These things happen. Even proper batters fail. Hopefully, they'll learn, and hopefully, we'll get better performances from our tail. And that is not the only reason we lost the Test match."

Key Factors in India's Defeat

1. Costly Catches

India's fielding also played a significant role in the defeat. They dropped seven catches throughout the match, with Yashasvi Jaiswal being a repeat offender. Ben Duckett, who was dropped on 97, went on to score a crucial 149. Gill acknowledged the dropped catches and emphasized the need to improve fielding standards.

2. Inexperience

While Gill cited the team's youth as a factor, Gambhir dismissed it as an excuse. "Every defeat is bad. It's not about a young team or an experienced team. It's an Indian team. We take pride in winning each and every game for our country. A young team is not an excuse... We will turn up every Test match thinking that we can win the test match and win the series."

Bumrah's Workload Management

Gambhir also confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah would only play two more Test matches in the series, as part of a pre-series plan to manage his workload. The decision on which two matches Bumrah would feature in is yet to be made.

Despite Bumrah's limited availability, Gambhir expressed confidence in the team's bowling attack. "Even without Bumrah, we absolutely have the bowling attack [to compete]. We believe in them. We trust in them... Those are inexperienced bowlers, but they will keep getting better."