Former India head coach Ravi Shastri came out in support of the beleaguered Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir after the side conceded the ongoing Test series to New Zealand on Day 3 of the 2nd Test on Saturday.
India, captained by Rohit Sharma, lost the three-match series 2-0 after going down in the 2nd Test in Pune by 113 runs, marking their first Test series loss at home in 12 years.
Indian batters got the taste of their own medicine as the Kiwi spin attack led by Mitchell Santner took 13 wickets in the match to bundle India out and take New Zealand to a historic triumph.
"New Zealand have beaten them (India) handsomely in both the Test matches. It's food for thought (on series loss).
'He (Gambhir) has just taken over the job. It is never easy being coach of a team that has such a big following. It is still early days in his career as a coach. But he'll soon learn," Shastri said on Jio Cinema on Saturday.
Gambhir was named India Head Coach in July after the end of Rahul Dravid's tenure.
Since taking over the mantle, Gambhir has tasted two massive upsets -- in his first assignment, on India’s tour of Sri Lanka, his wards completed a 3-0 clean sweep in the T20I series, but the Lankans beat India 2-0 to clinch their first ODI series victory over India in 27 years.
New Zealand conquering India for the first time will go down as one of his biggest losses on his CV. With the Australia tour set to start next month, Gambhir has his task cut out as he will have to prove himself at top level.
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