'The most pressure on this tour was on him'- former India cricketer praised Gautam Gambhir after ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test

Gautam Gambhir might have taken a breath of relief after the yorker from Mohammed Siraj uprooted the last wicket of England at Kennington Oval. The win in the final match to level the series 2-2 is not only important for the players but also equally important for Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of India.

If India was unable to win the 5th match of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, the scoreline could speak in support of England. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif said that Gambhir was the man who was under more pressure than anyone. India went to play the 5-match Test series after losing to New Zealand at home 0-3 and against Australia 1-3 during the previous Border Gavaskar Trophy. Before the Oval match, England was leading the series by 2-1, and India was in the back seat. Kaif heaped praise on Gambhir for believing in his strategy under immense pressure.

"The most pressure on this tour was on him. As a coach, he was not as successful in tests. I feel people were waiting so that if India lost this test, the most criticism would be on him. People wait to make memes of him on social media and talk bad about him. Maybe this would have been his last as a coach in Tests if India had lost. There was that much pressure on him. But where it is due, we must praise him wholeheartedly," Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

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Gambhir's stretegy proved on point 

Cricket experts and fans were skeptical about the team selection. There was criticism for not playing wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav to increase batting depth. 

"We all said that Kuldeep must play in Bumrah's absence, but Gambhir stuck to having batting depth. He wanted batting till number eight, and his decision proved right. The two tests we won—you look at Jadeja's and Sundar's roles there. As there was depth in batting, we could score runs, and then the series ended in a draw as we could win. It was a good decision. He was there with a young team. I can understand how much pressure was on him," Kaif added.