Team India’s new Test captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam GambhirImage Credit Source: PTI
For the last few days, only one number has been overshadowed in Indian cricket. This is 18. The reason is Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and IPL 2025 seasons. The wait for Virat Kohli and his franchise RCB, who immortally immortalized the number 18 jersey in Team India, ended. Finally, in the 18th season of IPL, Kohli and Bengaluru won the title for the first time. After this, now the eyes coach Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of Team India, is standing. Will they be able to finish the second wait for 18 years?
Waiting for Team India for 18 years
Head coach Gautam Gambhir was on a break ever since Team India won the Champions Trophy title on 9 March. Team India has seen this memorable success in Gambhir’s short tenure. But still big failures have been found on the Test cricket front. In such a situation, improving the performance of Team India in this format is the biggest challenge for them. The first stop of this challenge is the tour of England, which has proved to be the most difficult for Team India.
The biggest challenge is to cross this stop in front of Gambhir and new captain Shubman Gill. This is such a challenge, in front of which Team India has failed every time in the last 18 years. While Team India won the Test series twice in Australia during this period, they have returned empty handed from England. The Indian team last won the Test series in England in 2007. Gambhir was part of that series but after that only failure was found.
Such was the record after 2007
In 2011, England crushed India 4–0. After this, in 2014, there was only 1-3 defeat to Team India. In 2018, when it seemed that this time it would get success, England had won 4-1 series. However, in 2021-22, Team India was closest to creating history and was 2–1 in the series. But then the last test had to be canceled due to Corona infection. The Test was played in 2022, which England won and equalized the series 2-2.
Will you be able to make serious wonders like RCB?
Now once again the Indian team is landing on England’s land. Eyes are on whether she will be able to finish the wait for 18 years or not? However, this time the expectations from him are very low because there are no veterans like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin. There is a new captain and some are new and many less experienced players. In such a situation, expectations are low, but expectations were not even from RCB before the IPL 2025 season started. But the coincidence of 18 changed it this time. Will Gambhir and Gill also be able to do something like this?