Gambhir transferred his fighting spirit to us: Shardul Thakur

On a tense final day at The Oval, India’s young Test side pulled off a stunning 6-run victory over England, a result that helped them square the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2.

Shardul Thakur, who was part of India’s Test team in England, praised head coach Gautam Gambhir.

“We have always seen him as a player who is willing to fight for the team, and even during the huddles, he transferred that energy into us, the same energy that he brought into the field during his playing days,” Shardul said while speaking to Boria Majumdar on Revsportz.

“He is an achiever who has won trophies for the nation and the state. And he brings all those experiences and motivations into the team. Criticism will come and go, but as a team, winning matters, and I believe we are heading in the right direction when it comes to that,” Thakur noted.

India’s challenge was daunting. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket, and Mohammed Shami unavailable, the squad leaned heavily on Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for experience.

KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were the experienced names in batting.

“When your backs are against the wall, there is no going back, and that was the situation,” Shardul explained.

“This team had no other option than to rise and put up a fight, because at the end of the day, you are representing India,” he added.

He credits Gambhir for instilling belief, “Even our team huddles had Gauti (Gautam Gambhir) Bhai saying: ‘You are lucky to be representing your country.’ Maybe young, but we are here because of our talent and as our coach said: ‘If you have the belief, then there is no opponent you cannot beat. If it’s your day, you can take any side down, based on how badly you want it.’”

For Shardul, the hunger of the younger players was decisive, “When youngsters are in the team, they would do anything to showcase their talent in front of the world. I guess that’s what lifted the morale of the team and kept our team going.”

Thakur also opened up on the final Test at The Oval. England needed 35 runs on the last day with four wickets in hand. India needed belief.

“What happened on day four was that the old ball still had its shine, and it was swinging, so it helped us to get those two crucial wickets of Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell. It was Joe Root’s wicket next, and then it was time for the next day,” Shardul recalled.

“The full team was on the same page that we are going to win this one. Our huddle was also plain and simple — Gauti Bhai asked us to keep the belief that we can do it,” he said.

“(Mohammed) Siraj and Prasidh (Krishna) were in their spells, so it was also important for them to have a good start, which they did. Loads of credit go to Siraj and Prasidh for getting those important wickets and the way they pushed their bodies, especially Siraj after playing all five Tests. It was all about building the pressure, and one of the teams had to falter under that pressure. I feel India came out with flying colours,” he added.