"Gautam Gambhir is not important, Indian cricket is....": Indian head coach speaks to Pujara

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir spoke on his mindset as a coach, saying that for him, first-class cricket is the "most important format" and every opinion about the team's dressing room culture matters to him. Gambhir was speaking to Sony Sports Network, the official broadcasters of the ongoing India's five-Test tour to England, during the third Test at Lord's.

Speaking to the former teammate Cheteshwar Pujara, now handling broadcast duties as a commentator, Gambhir said,

"Probably this is the first time that the transition is happening in all three departments. I think for me, first-class cricket is the most important format, back home."

He also expressed that for this team and him, it is about "growing, learning, and competing" every day.

"It is about fighting every day. And it is about representing the tri-colour every day. Gautam Gambhir is not important. Indian cricket is important. Everyone has the right to have an opinion about the culture of that dressing room. And every opinion for me will matter," he added.

Speaking about family, with Gautam Gambhir notably flying back to India to be by his ailing mother's side ahead of the first Test at Leeds, the World Cup-winning left-hander said,

"See, family's role is important, but you have got to understand one thing. You're here for a purpose. For me, I think every day is a switch-on moment."

While Gambhir has been a successful white-ball coach, having won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 as a head coach and overseeing a fiery, in-form young T20I team under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, his Test returns so far have not been great, with India having lost their first home series in 12 years to New Zealand, that too in a 0-3 whitewash last year and surrendering the Border-Gavaskar Trophy back to Australia after a decade, with a 1-3 loss away from home. This cost India a hat-trick of appearances in the ICC World Test Championship final.

So far under his coaching, India has just won four out of their 12 Tests, losing seven and one ending in a draw. At the end of the first session, England was 83/2, with Joe Root (24*) and Ollie Pope (12*) unbeaten at the crease, having formed a 39-run partnership. After England won the toss and opted to bat first, the openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were watchful against the fiery pace of Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep, who beat their bat several times, on a pitch which had a little grass, but not a lot of carry initially.

Having scored 15 runs in the first seven overs, Zak Crawley broke the shackles in the eighth over by Akash, striking him for three boundaries, one through the covers, one edged over the slip cordon, and the last one being the best of the lot. At the end of 13 overs, England was 35/0, with Duckett (19*) and Crawley (18*) unbeaten., having gone through the first hour safely despite some threatening bowling.

All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was introduced to the attack immediately after drinks break. The move paid off handsomely as he managed to make Duckett and Crawley give away their wickets, caught by wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. Duckett went back for a 40-ball 23 (three fours) while Crawley (18 in 43 balls with four boundaries). England was suddenly in soup, at 44/2.

Duckett got dismissed while attempting a pull, while the delivery brushed past Crawley's gloves into Pant's hands. Joe Root joined Ollie Pope, and with two boundaries in Mohammed Siraj's 18th over, Root brought up England's 50-run mark in 16.4 overs. With a flick through mid-wicket and a drive through covers, Root asserted his intent to score big and make amends for the last two disappointing matches.

Root and Pope made sure that England ended the session without any further damage.

Brief Scores: England: 83/2 (Joe Root 24, Ben Duckett 23, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2/15) vs India. (ANI)