Everyone has responsibility, I cannot say just batters have let us down: Gambhir

Mumbai: India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday doesn’t want to blame the batters only for the debacle against the visiting New Zealand side, saying that every player has the responsibility towards the team.

India crashed to their first Test series defeat at home in 12 years after losing the second Test by 113 runs in Pune on October 26. The hosts had lost the first Test by eight wickets in Bengaluru. In three of the four innings, the team totals were 46, 156 and 245 with batters struggling against both swing and spin.

“Everyone has the responsibility, I cannot say just the batters have let us down,” Gambhir said at the press conference ahead of the third Test here from Friday.

He also ruled out bringing new players for the final Test.

“We are not in a situation where can think of that (giving chance to players who have not played),” Gambhir doused the speculations of an imminent debut being handed to Harshit Rana as reported in some quarters.

“Harshit Rana is not part of the squad. He has just come here to prepare for the Australia tour, Abhishek (Nayar) made it clear yesterday. IPL retention has nothing to be spoken about, we have a Test match here.

“Everyone is available for selection, we will take a call tomorrow.”

Gambhir admitted that the Test series defeat hurt the team but said it should spur the team to do better in future.

“I am not going to sugarcoat that it is hurting. It should hurt and that will make us better. What is wrong in being in this position?

“I am sure this will push the youngsters to be better cricketers. If we have results like Kanpur, might as well have results like this and keep moving forward,” said Gambhir.

He said the batters should be able to adapt to the situations of the game and perform accordingly.

“Test cricket should be played like Test cricket. If we have to get 400 runs inside a day’s play we should be able to get it. For me it is about playing the sessions as well. If we play 4.5 sessions we will have a lot of runs on board.

“A complete cricketer is one who can adapt successfully. Not just being able to hit the stands but also rotate strike successfully,” he said.

Talking about the defensive technique of batters being impacted by T20 cricket, Gambhir said, “The more the T20 cricket is played (around the world), the more the people will struggle in defending.

“But the most successful players irrespective of the formats always had strong defence. We need to keep telling people the importance of defence and we are working hard on it and we will see results in future.”

Asked about the Wankhede Stadium pitch around which there has been a lot of speculation, he said, “It is just a good wicket. Very difficult for anyone to judge before both teams have batted on it.”

On his journey at the helm of affairs so far, Gambhir said, “I never expected a very easy run for me. I know that we lost in Sri Lanka and against NZ and it is not a good place to be. All we can do is keep working hard and we will try winning every game that we play to represent the country.”

He stressed on the need for some empathy while dealing with players under pressure.

“I realise its a complete different thing when you were playing and now as a coach, need to put your arm around the players.”