‘My job is to win trophies’: Gautam Gambhir hits back at criticism

Gautam Gambhir isn't bothered by the "outside noise" and the brickbats hurled at him following a string of poor results, saying his focus firmly remains on "winning trophies for India".

Since Gambhir took over as head coach, India lost two home series against New Zealand and South Africa and were thrashed by Australia Down Under. The only silver lining in Tests under his stewardship has been a creditable 2-2 away series draw against England.

Gambhir responds to criticism

Asked about his criticism, Gambhir retorted in his inimitable manner.

"Criticism? My job is to win trophies. That's all I believe in and care for. That is the difference between me and everyone. I don't care about views or likes," Gambhir said during a pre-match press conference on Saturday.

Gambhir opens up on Agarkar talks

Gambhir was also asked about his interaction with chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar.

"It's only about how we want to move forward within cricket, what is important and what are the right decisions to make for betterment within cricket. So probably it's only around cricket now, how we see it in the game going forward."

‘Rankings do not matter’, says India coach

India are placed fifth in the World Test Championship ranking table behind Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Bangladesh.

"Rankings do not matter. We are not struggling. Since the England tour, we have played reasonable Test cricket," Gambhir said.

Kuldeep gets backing ahead of second Test

While he didn't fully divulge if India will stick to its winning combination at Galle in the second Test, Gambhir had some words of encouragement for under-fire left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

"We will try to field the best bowling attack that can get us 20 wickets," Gambhir said giving an open-ended reply.

Asked if Kuldeep was under-bowled in Galle as he sent down 25 overs across two innings, the head coach termed it skipper Shubman Gill's prerogative.

"Kuldeep is a good bowler and sometimes it's up to the captain as well."

Gambhir backs young performers

He was all praise for Manav Suthar and Devdutt Padikkal, the two young architects of India's 165-run win in the first Test with match tally of 211 runs and 10 wickets respectively.

"There will be ups and downs in cricket, and we need to back our players and give them longer rope, and it's not based on one or two matches."

Gambhir calls for three-Test series

Gambhir also urged authorities to think about having three-Test series instead of two.

"Ideally I would want a three-match Test series. Sometimes, if you lose the first Test, the other team cannot make a comeback and the maximum they can try for, is a draw."