Gautam Gambhir did not mince his words while addressing the decline of the Indian batting unit's game against spin bowling during a pre-match press conference ahead of the third Test against New Zealand scheduled to take place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Gambhir blamed T20 cricket for the recent struggles and gave Virat Kohli's example while calling for players to improve their game against the defense. The Indian head coach predicted as the shortest format continues to grow, teams around the world will face such problems.
"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."
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"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," said Gambhir.
Gambhir did hint that in the future the team will have to find players who are specialist in red-ball cricket while claiming the team needs players who can bat four or five sessions.
"See, at the moment it's difficult to answer this question "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," Gambhir added.
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However, the Indian head coach did express hope that players can still improve their defensive game but put the onus on the players to take the initiative. He pointed out that players in the current team are working hard on that aspect and promised results will soon follow.
"To a certain extent, yes you can. 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," Gambhir said.
The comments come on the back of the Indian batting unit's horror show against New Zealand as they were bowled out for 46 in the first innings of the Bengaluru Test and 156 in Pune. The two defeats have ensured India's first home Test series defeat in 12 years.