‘Bowlers win you matches and tournaments’: Gautam Gambhir ahead of New Zealand Test series

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has highlighted the importance of bowlers in Test cricket. Gambhir said it is crucial that bowlers take 20 wickets to win the Test match and they need to change their batter-loving attitude as the bowlers are more important to the team’s success.

India recently defeated Bangladesh by 2-0 in a two-match Test series and then registered a thumping 3-0 triumph in the T20I series.

“This is the age of the bowlers. Batters only set up the matches. It’s very important for our batsman-obsessed attitude to end. If the batters make 1000 runs, there’s still no guarantee that the team will win a Test match but if a bowler takes 20 wickets, there’s a 99% guarantee that we’ll win the match. Be it Test matches or any other formats, bowlers win you tournaments. So I hope this era or the upcoming ones, we’ll talk more about bowlers than batters. And I hope the mindset changes over time,” Gambhir said.

The former Indian opener said that the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja are changing India’s batting-obsessed thinking.

“India is a batting obsessed nation. But Bumrah, Ashwin and Jadeja are changing that. Bumrah is smart in Test cricket. It is good these guys are changing the trend Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the world now who can make a difference at any stage of the game,” Gambhir had said.

Indian bowlers have been ticking the right boxes and they have played an instrumental role in the success of the team.

Meanwhile, Gambhir said it is not fair to judge a player’s performance after every game.

“You don’t keep judging people after every game. If you keep judging people after every game, that’s not fair on them. It’s a sport and people are bound to fail.

“But more importantly, I think if we can get the results, if people are doing what is needed of them to get the results in our favour, that is fine,” he added.

India will take on New Zealand in the opening Test at Bengaluru from October 16.