London [UK], July 31 : As India prepares for the all-important fifth Test at The Oval in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, former England captain Michael Atherton believes head coach Gautam Gambhir will feel the heat if they lose the series. With the hosts leading the series 2-1, the pressure is on India to level things up or risk conceding a third consecutive Test series defeat.
Speaking on the situation, Atherton told Sky Sports Cricket, "Well, they've lost two series in a row. They lost at home to New Zealand 3-0 and they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1. If they lose this series then yeah, he's under pressure as a coach."
India's recent form in Tests has been a cause for concern, especially with the back-to-back losses against New Zealand and Australia. A defeat in this series would mark three straight Test series defeats.
"India, with all their resources, their population strength, they're not a team that people are patient with. They're expected to win every time they walk onto the park. So three Test series defeats in a row would be a problem for him," Atherton added.
For Gambhir, the Oval Test isn't just about levelling the series, it's about reaffirming his credentials as a long-term leader of this talented Indian squad.
India's recent form in Tests has been a cause for concern, especially with the back-to-back losses against New Zealand and Australia. A defeat in this series would mark three straight Test series defeats.
Gambhir brought success by helping India lift the ICC Champions Trophy after 12 long years.
Tensions remain high following an argument between Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and Kennington Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis over practice facilities, with the curator allegedly preventing them from inspecting the pitch from closed quarters.
England's Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue.
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Karun Nair, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, N Jagadeesan, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep.
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