AB de Villiers believes India’s recent T20I setbacks should act as a wake-up call. The team lost 2-0 to Ireland and then 4-0 to England, and the former South Africa captain expects head coach Gautam Gambhir to come under intense scrutiny.
Ownership from the coach
On his YouTube channel, de Villiers said there is plenty to worry about and that attention will fall on Gambhir. He argued that Gambhir needs to take leadership and ownership of the team’s path, and that he has the credentials to do so.
Batters must adapt
De Villiers urged India’s batters to adjust to international cricket rather than depend only on the attacking style that often works in the IPL. Players who scored heavily in the tournament, he said, must realise that international sides leave fewer weaknesses to target, and that batters need to change gears with the match situation instead of always playing in fifth gear.
India’s batting struggled in the England series, with IPL stars Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson unable to make a major impact.
Inexperience and patience
De Villiers admitted that watching India lose four of five matches was hard and that he had not predicted it, though he said it was not wholly surprising given how inexperienced the side led by Shreyas Iyer is. In his view leadership matters even more in these circumstances, and he asked for patience with the current group.
He added that, while Gambhir’s role is important, the responsibility for a turnaround cannot rest on the head coach alone.
