“High-risk, high reward” — that’s the mantra head coach Gautam Gambhir has set for Team India in T20Is.
That India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, are playing a fearless and ultra-aggressive brand of cricket in the shortest format was well evident in the just-concluded series against England which they won 4-1.
“That’s the kind of T20 cricket we want to play. We don’t want to fear losing a game of cricket. We want to play high-risk, high-reward cricket. And these guys have adopted that ideology really well,” Gambhir told the host broadcaster after the match
on Sunday.
“We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly. And in trying to do that, there’ll be games where we’ll get bundled out for 120-130. And that is what T20 cricket is all about... Most importantly, I think we’re on the right track.
“I think the ideology of this T20 team is based on selflessness and fearlessness, and I think in the last six months, these guys have done it day in, day out.”
The coach also praised Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy for their performances. Abhishek smashed 135 of 54 balls on Sunday, while Varun finished as the highest wicket-taker of the series with 14 scalps.
“We want to keep backing players like Abhishek Sharma. We have to be patient with these boys. I haven’t seen a better T20 hundred against bowlers who are bowling at 140-150 kph consistently.”
About spinner Varun, he said: “I think his transformation from IPL to international T20 cricket has been phenomenal. This series was probably the benchmark as well because England are a high-quality side.”
