MANCHESTER: India head coach Gautam Gambhir believed Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar deserved hundreds, backing the decision to continue playing even after England offered for a draw. The English players apparently were not happy with the move and the same was visible when they decided to bring in Harry Brook to roll his arm over. "If someone is batting on 90 and the other one is batting on 85, wouldn't they deserve a hundred?" Gambhir said while replying to a question posed during the post-match press conference on Sunday.
He even questioned whether England would have walked off if someone from their side would have been batting on 90 or 85. "If someone has the opportunity to get his first test hundred, wouldn't you allow him to do it? They weathered the storm. It's up to them. That is, if they want to play that way, then it's up to them. I've got nothing more to say. I think both those guys deserved a hundred and fortunately they got it," he added.
The former India player refused to draw a comparison between Manchester and Napier Test, wherein he scored a gritty hundred to help India draw the match and affirmed the present team is making history of their own. "First of all, I don't remember any of my knocks, it's history. I think they are making history of their own. Honestly, no one in this team will follow anyone or want to. They are making their own history. They want to fight for a common man back home. And the important thing is that the way a lot of people wrote us off in this Test match, this is the foundation of this team. These are characters who are sitting in this dressing room, wanting to fight for the country and they will continue to do that."
Gambhir did not give any clarity on Bumrah's availability for the last Test starting at the Oval on July 31. He said no decision has been made in this regard yet. Speaking on Shubman Gill and his growth as a batter during the ongoing series, he said, "First of all, no one has any doubt on Shubman's talent. Those who had a doubt, they only know how to talk about cricket, not understand it. Because some people take time to blossom in international cricket. And there is no surprise in this dressing room that Shubman has done on this tour. And honestly, even if he hadn't done it, no one had a doubt on his talent. Because those who understand cricket, they know what kind of talent Shubman possess. And the important thing is that he is living up to his expectations, his own talent, and more importantly, the pressure of the captaincy, the burden and pressure of the captaincy. I think you can't see anything of that sort when he goes in bat. Because when he goes into bat, he goes as a batter, not as a captain."
Gambhir reiterated that he believes in results.Currently, the team is 1-2 down in the series and will try to make it 2-2 in the last match. He also confirmed that injured wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the series due to the right broken foot adding further that all pacers are fit to play. "Rishabh, already it's been declared that he's out of the series. And one thing I want to say is that the character and the foundation of this team will be built on something Rishabh did for the team and for the country as well. Any amount of praise is not enough for him. Especially batting with a broken foot. Not many people have done that in the past. And he has put his hand up. And that is why I say, any amount of praise, I can sit here and talk about this for hours and hours. I think the generations to come will talk about this. And it should talk about it that there is someone who has batted with a broken foot. It's unfortunate because of the kind of form he was in. But again, he's an important member of the Test side and I hope he recovers quickly and comes back quickly and tries and delivers again for us. Also all the fast bowlers are fit. There is no injury scare."
He said the draw here in Manchester will give the team a psychological edge over their opponents going into the last match of the series. "It will give an edge because when you see, when you're put under the pressure, when you're put under the pump and you end up playing five sessions, I think that's a great character. And anything that you do in these conditions, when you're put under pressure and you come out of those pressure moments, it is always a great feeling. And it just ends up giving a lot of confidence in the dressing room as well. And I'm sure, I think going into the Oval, I think we will be high on confidence. But we can't take anything for granted. I think it's going to be a new game. It's going to be against a strong England side and we absolutely will be up for it.
Gambhir was all praise for Washington, who not only dug deep to help India draw the match but also completed his maiden Test century. "I think Washington himself was in really good form as well. It's just that sometimes when you're playing seven or seven, eight batters, I think sometimes it's difficult to accommodate someone. And we always knew that with Rishabh not being there at number five, it was our opportunity to put Washi at five and try and give him that opportunity. And we always knew the kind of form he was in and the way he was batting the net, even in the last couple of test matches. So there's not an inch of surprise that what he did today, and I'm sure this is going to be just part of someone who's going to achieve a lot of success in the future, but what he's done with the ball, what he's done with the bat. I think the entire country should be proud of him."
He believed that the call for an injury substitute, similar to a concussion substitute is valid.