India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has been facing a lot of criticism after his side was handed an embarrassing defeat at the hands of South Africa in the 1st Ind vs SA Test. The criticisms further escalated after India's batting collapse in the first Guwahati innings.
Amid the questions about the team selection, former CSK player Suresh Raina has come forward to show his support for Gautam Gambhir. Raina shared that the head coach should not be held responsible for the collapse and that the players should also be questioned.
In an interview with PTI, Raina explained, "Gauti bhaiya (Gautam Gambhir) has worked really hard, and he is not at all at fault. The players have to work really hard and play well. Under him, we have been doing great in the white-ball format, where we just won the ICC Champions Trophy and Asia Cup in Dubai earlier this year."
He further added, "The players have to score; the coach can only guide, advise, and give support to the players."
After facing a complete whitewash at home at the hands of New Zealand last year, India could find themself in a similar position against South Africa after losing in Kolkata.
Following India's poor performance in the Test format, many have been calling for the sacking of head coach Gautam Gambhir. Raina dismissed any such claims and backed the coach.
Suresh Raina shared, "If they (the players) are facing any issues, they must be communicating to the coach that this is the issue. If the players do well, then the coach will be also applauded. But if the team is not doing well, it should not be that the coach should be sacked from his post."
He added, "I have played with Gautam bhaiya, he loves Indian cricket team, he loves cricket, I have played and won the World Cup with him. So, he has done really well for the country, and it is the players’ responsibility to do well."
The former CSK player explained that domestic cricket should be considered the benchmark for selection and urged the players to play more domestic cricket. Raina shared, "They should play domestic cricket regularly and do well there; if they do well, that will automatically reflect in their performances at the international level."
