Probably has a lot to do with playing on flat wickets in T20 – Gautam Gambhir on decline of good defensive technique in Test cricket

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir feels T20 cricket has led to the downfall of a good defensive technique in Test cricket. With so much of T20 cricket being played all across the globe, the grit and determination of occupying the crease for a long time is soon becoming an endangered species.

India has been on the receiving end themselves as they lost the first two Test matches against New Zealand despite playing in favourable home conditions. Batters have failed to keep the bowlers at bay when they have played on a pitch, which has assisted the seamers and the spinners.

In Bengaluru, the track was providing all the aid to the pacers and India was bundled out for only 46 runs. In Pune, India could only manage 156 runs in the first innings on a spin-friendly pitch.

Speaking ahead of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai, Gambhir said, “To be a successful Test cricketer, you see people like Virat, you see all the great players who’ve done really well in Test cricket for a long period of time, they’ve always had good defence. The foundation of your batting in Test cricket has to be defence. And then you start taking up from there.”

“Probably has a lot to do with playing on flat wickets in T20,” he added on the topic of a decline in good defensive game in Test cricket. “We need to keep tightening our game. but you will see probably going forward in future, we’ll have the same issues with a lot of other teams as well. Because the more the T20 cricket is played, the lesser people will start defending,” felt Gambhir.

Gambhir, whose coaching tenure hasn’t started on a high, feels picking format-specific players could be a way forward for the teams.

“See, at the moment it’s difficult to answer this question,” he said when asked about specialists in red-ball cricket. “But going forward, obviously, we will have to identify players who are solid red ball cricketers. Because ultimately, to get the results, you will have to work really hard for 3 or 4 days or 5 days to be honest. So sometimes, as I just mentioned, it’s important if we can bat sessions, we know that we’ve got the bowling attack to take 20 wickets. At the moment, it’s difficult to answer,” he said.

Gambhir believes it is possible for the current-era batters to improve their defensive game.

“To a certain extent, yes you can,” said Gambhir. “To a certain extent, it has to come from the individual as well. That how much value does he end up giving it in defending the ball? That is something which is very important. And especially on a turning track. Because I’ve always believed that the best players and the most successful players in this format, or be it any format, always had solid defense. So that is something which we keep talking about. And it is not the overnight thing that we’re going to talk about it today and people will start getting better tomorrow. But it’s a continuous process. We need to keep working on it. We need to keep telling people the importance of defense. And all that stuff. So I feel that I think guys are really working hard on it. And you’ll see the results in the future as well. And that is something which is very, very important, especially in red-ball cricket,” said the India head coach.

The third and final Test match between India and New Zealand will be played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai from November 1 onwards.