Dubai: India head coach Gautam Gambhir termed the convincing win over Pakistan a “good one” but “more importantly”, he felt it was the team’s way of showing solidarity with the families of the Pahalgam terrorist attack victims. Speaking to tournament broadcaster Sony Sports, Gambhir said there is lot of cricket left in the tournament following the seven-wicket drubbing of Pakistan on Sunday night.
“Good win, there’s a lot of cricket left. More importantly, as a team we wanted to show our solidarity towards the victims, all the families and what they’ve gone through in the Pahalgam attack,” said Gambhir. “We also want to thank the armed forces for their success in Operation Sindoor. I am sure we will try and make the country proud and make them happy,” he added.
On the match that turned out to be a no contest, Gambhir said he could not have asked for a better performance from his players. “You couldn’t ask for a better performance, especially the way the bowlers bowled. If you are restricting the opponents to 127, the way all three spinners and Bumrah performed, then obviously you will back the batting lineup to chase it down.
“The way we started was also important, and the players are doing the right things day in and day out,” said the former India opener. Gambhir has been in charge of the Indian team for little more than a year and his tenure has seen mixed results. Asked about his time with the national team thus far, Gambhir stressed on his doing his job with honesty. “I’ve had my good days, I’ve had my bad days as well -- that’s what coaching is about.
The important thing is if you can work honestly in the dressing room, bring honest people, it is very important. “You can’t compare apples to oranges. Some people may not see the transition clearly, but we’ve kept backing the players, the support staff has kept backing them, and we’ll keep getting results in the future as well,” Gambhir added. India have won Champions Trophy in his tenure but were also blanked by New Zealand in a three-Test series at home last year.
