Indian men’s team head coach Gautam Gambhir has said that he would find it hard to forget the 3-0 home whitewash to New Zealand in 2024. The 43-year-old admitted that everyone in the dressing room thought that the team would beat the Kiwis comfortably before the series began.
The Rohit Sharma-led side lost all three Tests that were held in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai, thereby succumbing to their first Test series loss at home in 12 years.
“If I am being honest, and speak from the heart, I don’t think that in my coaching tenure, I can ever forget that, and I should not forget that. I have told this to the boys as well, it is important to look forward, but sometimes it is also important to remember the past as well. Everyone thought that we would roll over New Zealand. In that dressing room, we need to keep reminding that New Zealand happened,” Gambhir told JioHotstar in an interview.
The whitewash was also the first time India had failed to win a Test in a home series since losing 2-0 to South Africa in 2000. The series loss dented their chances of qualifying for a third World Test Championship final significantly. They eventually could not qualify for the finale after losing 3-1 to Australia Down Under.
The final Test of the series against New Zealand in Mumbai eventually proved to be the last at home for Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin. The off-spinning all rounder announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket in December, while Sharma and Kohli announced their Test retirement in May this year.
The two batting talismen will be seen in action during the three-match ODI series against Australia that starts in Perth on October 19. Both players last played for India in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai in March.
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